532 ? Nika riots in Constantinople.
888 ? Odo, Count of Paris becomes King of the Franks.
1328 ? Edward III of England marries Philippa of Hainault, daughter of the Count of Hainault.
1435 ? Sicut Dudum is promulgated by Pope Eugene IV about the enslaving of black natives in Canary Islands by Spanish Natives.
1547 ? Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey is sentenced to death.
1605 ? The controversial play Eastward Hoe by Ben Jonson, George Chapman, and John Marston is performed, landing two of the authors in prison.
1607 ? The Bank of Genoa fails after announcement of national bankruptcy in Spain.
1610 ? Galileo Galilei discovers Ganymede, 4th moon of Jupiter.
1733 ? James Oglethorpe and 130 colonists arrive in Charleston, South Carolina.
1785 ? John Walter publishes the first issue of the Daily Universal Register (later renamed The Times).
1797 ? A naval battle is fought between a French ship of the line and two British frigates off the coast of Brittany during the French Revolutionary Wars ends with the French vessel running ashore, resulting in the death of over 900.
1822 ? The design of the Greek flag is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
1830 ? The Great fire of New Orleans, Louisiana begins.
1832 ? President Andrew Jackson writes to Vice President Martin Van Buren expressing his opposition to South Carolina's defiance of federal authority in the Nullification Crisis.
1840 ? The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives.
1842 ? Dr. William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the British East India Company Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, becomes famous for being the sole survivor of an army of 4,500 men and 12,000 camp followers when he reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad.
1847 ? The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican-American War in California.
1869 ? National convention of black leaders meets in Washington D.C.
1893 ? The Independent Labour Party of the UK has its first meeting.
1893 ? U.S. Marines land in Honolulu from the U.S.S. Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
1898 ? Emile Zola's J'accuse exposes the Dreyfus affair.
1908 ? Rhoads Opera House fire in Boyertown, PA killing 171 people.
1913 ? Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated is founded on the campus of Howard University as the second Black Greek Letter Organization for Women. The mission is to make a move towards social activism.
1915 ? An earthquake in Avezzano, Italy kills 29,800.
1934 ? The Candidate of Science degree is established in the USSR.
1935 ? A plebiscite in Saarland shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Nazi Germany.
1939 ? The Black Friday bush fires burn 20,000 square kilometres of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people.
1942 ? Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car.
1942 ? World War II: First use of aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter.
1953 ? Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen as President of Yugoslavia.
1958 ? Moroccan Liberation Army ambushes Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera.
1964 ? Hindu-Muslim rioting breaks out in the Indian city of Calcutta ? now Kolkata ? resulting in the deaths of more than 100 people.
1964 ? Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, is appointed archbishop of Krakow, Poland.
1966 ? Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member by being appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
1968 ? Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom Prison
1972 ? Prime Minister Kofi Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo of Ghana are ousted in a bloodless military coup by Col. Ignatius Kutu Acheamphong.
1974 ? Seraphim is elected Archbishop of Athens and All Greece.
1982 ? Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737 jet crashes into Washington, DC's 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists. Coincidentally, 30 minutes later, a Washington Metrorail train derails at the Federal Triangle station, on the orange and blue lines, killing three and injuring many more. Flight 90 also destroyed part of a Blue line track that ran next to the 14th street bridge. This gridlocked the city.
1985 ? A passenger train plunged into a ravine at Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa.
1986 ? A month-long violent struggle begins in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties.
1990 ? L. Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia.
1991 ? Soviet Union military troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius. Killed 14 people and wounding 1000.
1992 ? Japan apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery (Comfort women) during World War II.
1993 ? Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center.
2001 ? An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800.
[edit]Births
1334 ? King Henry II of Castile (d. 1379)
1505 ? Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1571)
1562 ? Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish poet (d. 1601)
1596 ? Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter (d. 1656)
1610 ? Maria Anna of Austria, Electress of Bavaria (d. 1665)
1616 ? Antoinette Bourignon, Flemish mystic (d. 1680)
1635 ? Philipp Jakob Spener, German theologian (d. 1705)
1651 ? Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English politician (d. 1694)
1683 ? Christoph Graupner, German composer (d. 1760)
1720 ? Richard Hurd, English bishop and writer (d. 1808)
1749 ? Friedrich Müller, painter and dramatist (d. 1825)
1777 ? Elisa Bonaparte, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte (d. 1820)
1787 ? John Davis, 14th and 17th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1854)
1804 ? Paul Gavarni, French caricaturist (d. 1866)
1805 ? Thomas Dyer, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1862)
1808 ? Salmon P. Chase, 6th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1873)
1812 ? Victor de Laprade, French poet and critic (d. 1883)
1832 ? Horatio Alger, Jr., American minister and author (d. 1899)
1845 ? Félix Tisserand, French Astronomer (d. 1896)
1858 ? Oskar Minkowski, Biologist (d. 1931)
1859 ? Kostis Palamas, Greek poet (d. 1943)
1861 ? Max Nonne, German neurologist (d. 1959)
1864 ? Wilhelm Wien, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
1865 ? Princess Marie of Orléans (d. 1908)
1866 ? Vasily Kalinnikov, Russian composer (d. 1901)
1869 ? Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke of Aosta, Italian aristocrat (d. 1931)
1870 ? Ross Granville Harrison, American biologist (d. 1959)
1878 ? Lionel Groulx, Canadian nationalist (d. 1967)
1881 ? Essington Lewis, Australian industrialist (d. 1961)
1883 ? Prince Arthur of Connaught (d. 1938)
1884 ? Sophie Tucker, Russian-born singer and performer (d. 1966)
1885 ? Alfred Fuller, Canadian businessman, The "Fuller Brush Man" (d. 1973)
1886 ? Art Ross, Canadian ice hockey player and executive (d. 1964)
1887 ? Gabriel Gabrio, French actor (d. 1946)
1887 ? George Gurdjieff, Armenian-Greek mystic (d. 1949)
1890 ? Jüri Uluots, Estonian Prime Minister (d. 1945)
1893 ? Roy Cazaly, Australian rules footballer (d. 1963)
1893 ? Clark Ashton Smith, American writer (d. 1961)
1898 ? Kai Munk, Danish playwright and Lutheran pastor, martyr (d. 1944)
1898 ? Carlo Tagliabue, Italian baritone (d. 1978)
1901 ? A. B. Guthrie, American novelist, historian (d. 1991)
1901 ? Mieczysław Żywczyński, Polish historian and priest (d. 1978)
1904 ? Richard Addinsell, British composer (Warsaw Concerto) (d. 1977)
1905 ? Kay Francis, American actress (d. 1968)
1906 ? Zhou Youguang, Chinese linguist
1909 ? Marinus van der Lubbe, Dutch communist (d. 1934)
1910 ? Yannis Tsarouchis, Greek painter (d. 1989)
1911 ? Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Premier of Queensland (d. 2005)
1913 ? Jeff Morrow, American actor (d. 1993)
1914 ? Lord Ted Willis, British television dramatist (d. 1992)
1919 ? Robert Stack, American actor (d. 2003)
1921 ? Dachine Rainer, British writer (d. 2000)
1922 ? Albert Lamorisse, French film director and producer (d. 1970)
1923 ? Daniil Shafran, Russian cellist (d. 1997)
1924 ? Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-born philosopher (d. 1994)
1924 ? Roland Petit, French choreographer
1925 ? Georgi Kaloyanchev, Bulgarian actor
1925 ? Gwen Verdon, American actress and dancer (d. 2000)
1926 ? Michael Bond, British writer
1926 ? Carolyn Gold Heilbrun, American feminist author (d. 2003)
1927 ? Brock Adams, American politician (d. 2004)
1927 ? Sydney Brenner, British Nobel Laureate
1929 ? Joe Pass, U.S. jazz guitarist (d. 1994)
1930 ? Liz Anderson, American singer
1930 ? Frances Sternhagen, American actress
1931 ? Ian Hendry, English actor (d. 1984)
1931 ? Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor (d. 2007)
1931 ? Chris Wiggins, British actor
1932 ? Barry Bishop, American mountaineer (d. 1994)
1934 ? Rip Taylor, American actor
1935 ? Mauro Forghieri, Italian automotive & mechanical engineer (Scuderia Ferrari)
1935 ? Elsa Martinelli, Italian actress
1936 ? Renato Bruson, Italian operatic baritone
1938 ? William B. Davis, Canadian actor
1938 ? Tord Grip, Swedish football manager
1938 ? Shivkumar Sharma, santoor player, music composer
1939 ? Jacek Gmoch, Polish footballer and coach
1939 ? Cesare Maniago, Canadian ice hockey player
1940 ? Edmund White, American author
1941 ? Pasqual Maragall, Spanish politician
1942 ? Carol Cleveland, English actress
1943 ? Richard Moll, American actor
1946 ? Eero Koivistoinen, Finnish musician
1947 ? Jacek Majchrowski, Mayor of Kraków
1947 ? Carles Rexach, former Spanish-Catalan footballer and coach
1947 ? John Lees, English Musician
1948 ? Gaj Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur
1949 ? Brandon Tartikoff, American television executive (d. 1997)
1949 ? Rakesh Sharma, first Indian and 138th person to visit space
1950 ? Bob Forsch, American baseball player
1950 ? John McNaughton, American film director
1954 ? Trevor Rabin, South African guitarist (Yes)
1955 ? Paul Kelly, Australian singer-songwriter
1955 ? Jay McInerney, American writer
1956 ? Janet Hubert-Whitten, American actress
1957 ? Lorrie Moore, American writer
1957 ? Mark O'Meara, Major winning American Golfer
1959 ? James Lomenzo, American musician (Megadeth)
1960 ? Takis Lemonis, Greek footballer and coach
1961 ? Wayne Coyne, American singer (The Flaming Lips)
1961 ? Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress
1961 ? Suggs, English singer (Madness)
1962 ? Trace Adkins, American country music singer-songwriter
1962 ? Paul Higgins, Canadian hockey player
1962 ? Kevin Mitchell, American baseball player
1963 ? Kevin McClatchy, American businessman
1964 ? Bill Bailey, British comedian
1964 ? Penelope Ann Miller, American actress
1964 ? Ronan Rafferty, Northern Irish golfer
1966 ? Patrick Dempsey, American actor
1966 ? Shelagh Fogarty, British radio presenter
1967 ? Annie Jones, Australian actress
1968 ? Traci Bingham, American actress
1968 ? Mike Whitlow, English footballer
1968 ? Chara, Japanese singer and actress
1969 ? Stefania Belmondo, Italian cross-country skier
1969 ? Stephen Hendry, Scottish snooker player
1970 ? Keith Coogan, American actor
1970 ? Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (d. 2004)
1970 ? Shonda Rhimes, American screenwriter/creator (Grey's Anatomy)
1971 ? John Mallory Asher, American film actor/director
1971 ? Phil Whyman, English paranormal researcher, television personality, writer and musician
1972 ? Mark Bosnich, Australian footballer
1972 ? Nicole Eggert, American actress
1972 ? James O'Brien, British radio presenter and journalist
1972 ? Atoosa Rubenstein, Iranian-born American magazine editor
1972 ? Vitaly Scherbo, Belarusian gymnast
1972 ? Park Jin-Young, Korean singer
1973 ? Nikolai Khabibulin, Russian ice hockey player
1973 ? Gloria Yip, Hong Kong actor
1974 ? Sergei Brylin, Russian ice hockey player
1976 ? Michael Peña, American actor
1976 ? Tania Vicent, Canadian short track speed skater
1977 ? Orlando Bloom, English actor
1977 ? James Posey, American basketball player
1978 ? Ashmit Patel, Indian actor
1980 ? Krzysztof Czerwinski, Polish conductor and organist
1980 ? Nils-Eric Johansson, Swedish footballer
1980 ? Akira Kaji, Japanese footballer
1980 ? Michael Rupp, American ice hockey player
1981 ? Reggie Brown, American football player
1981 ? Shad Gaspard, American professional wrestler, bodyguard, and actor
1981 ? Darrell Rasner, American baseball player
1981 ? Jason James, Welsh bassist
1982 ? Guillermo Coria, Argentine tennis player
1983 ? Julian Morris, English actor
1983 ? William Hung, American Idol contestant
1983 ? Ronny Turiaf, French basketball player
1984 ? Matteo Cavagna, Italian footballer
1984 ? Nathaniel Motte, American musician (3OH!3)
1985 ? Qi Hui, Chinese swimmer
1986 ? Joannie Rochette, Canadian figure skater
1987 ? Stefano Del Sante, Italian footballer
1987 ? Lee Seung Gi, K-pop singer
1987 ? Marc Staal, Canadian ice hockey player
1987 ? Alexandre Pliuschin, Moldovan cyclist
1987 ? Daniel Oss, Italian cyclist
1989 ? Bryan Arguez, American soccer player
1989 ? James Berrett, English footballer
1989 ? Triinu Kivilaan, Estonian singer
1990 ? Liam Hemsworth, Australian actor
1992 ? Adam Matthews, Welsh footballer
1995 ? Qaasim Middleton, American musician and actor
[edit]Deaths
86 BC ? Gaius Marius, Roman general and politician (b. 157 BC)
614 ? Saint Kentigern (Saint Mungo), patron saint of Glasgow
703 ? Empress Jitō of Japan (b. 645)
858 ? King Ethelwulf of Wessex (b. 795)
888 ? Charles the Fat, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 839)
1138 ? Simon I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1076)
1151 ? Abbot Suger, French statesman and historian (b. 1081)
1177 ? Henry II of Austria (b. 1107)
1330 ? Frederick I of Austria (b. 1286)
1363 ? Meinhard III of Gorizia-Tyrol (b. 1344)
1599 ? Edmund Spenser, English poet (b. 1552)
1625 ? Jan Brueghel the Elder, Flemish painter (b. 1568)
1630 ? Yuan Chonghuan, Chinese military commander (b. 1584)
1658 ? Edward Sexby, English Puritan soldier (b. 1616)
1691 ? George Fox, English founder of Quakerism (b. 1624)
1766 ? King Frederick V of Denmark (b. 1723)
1775 ? Johann Georg Walch, German theologian (b. 1693)
1790 ? Luc Urbain de Bouexic, comte de Guichen, French admiral (b. 1712)
1796 ? John H. D. Anderson, Scottish scientist and inventor (b. 1726)
1797 ? Elisabeth Christine von Braunschweig-Bevern, wife of Frederick II of Prussia (b. 1715)
1832 ? Thomas Lord, English cricketer, founder of Lord's cricket ground (b. 1755)
1838 ? Ferdinand Ries, German composer (b. 1784)
1852 ? Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian explorer (b. 1778)
1853 ? Theophilos Kairis, Greek priest, humanist and revolutionary (b. 1783)
1860 ? William Mason, American politician (b. 1786)
1864 ? Stephen Foster, American composer (b. 1826)
1882 ? Wilhelm Mauser, German weapon designer and manufacturer (b. 1834)
1885 ? Schuyler Colfax, American politician (b. 1823)
1889 ? Solomon Bundy, American politician (b. 1823)
1894 ? Nadezhda von Meck, Russian patroness of Pyotr Tchaikovsky (b. 1831)
1905 ? George Thorn, Premier of Queensland (b. 1838)
1906 ? Alexander Popov, Russian physicist (b. 1859)
1915 ? Mary Slessor, Scottish missionary (b. 1848)
1923 ? Alexandre Ribot, French statesman (b. 1842)
1924 ? Georg Hermann Quincke, German physicist (b. 1834)
1929 ? Wyatt Earp, American Western lawman (b. 1848)
1929 ? H. B. Higgins, Australian politician and judge (b. 1851)
1932 ? Sophia of Prussia, consort of Constantine I of Greece (b. 1870)
1934 ? Paul Ulrich Villard, French physicist (b. 1860)
1941 ? James Joyce, Irish writer (b. 1882)
1943 ? Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss artist (b. 1889)
1958 ? Jesse L. Lasky, American film producer (b. 1880)
1962 ? Ernie Kovacs, American actor and comedian (b. 1919)
1967 ? Anatole de Grunwald, British producer and screenwriter (b. 1910)
1971 ? Robert Still, English composer (b. 1910)
1974 ? Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor (b. 1906)
1974 ? Salvador Novo, Mexican writer and poet (b. 1904)
1976 ? Margaret Leighton, English actress (b. 1922)
1977 ? Henri Langlois, French film archivist, and a co-founder of the Cinémathèque Française (b. 1914)
1978 ? Hubert H. Humphrey, 38th Vice President of the United States (b. 1911)
1978 ? Joe McCarthy, American baseball manager (b. 1887)
1979 ? Donny Hathaway, American musician (b. 1945)
1979 ? Marjorie Lawrence, Australian soprano (b. 1907)
1980 ? Andre Kostelanetz, Russian-born music conductor and arranger (b. 1901)
1982 ? Marcel Camus, French director (b. 1912)
1988 ? Chiang Ching-kuo, President of the Republic of China (b. 1910)
1993 ? Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian composer (b. 1907)
1995 ? Max Harris, Australian poet, columnist and publisher (b. 1921)
2001 ? Michael Cuccione, Canadian actor and singer (b. 1985)
2002 ? Ted Demme, American film director (b. 1963)
2002 ? Gregorio Fuentes, Cuban fisherman, Ernest Hemingway's first mate (b. 1897)
2002 ? Frank Shuster, Canadian comedian (b. 1916)
2003 ? Norman Panama, American screenwriter and director (b. 1914)
2004 ? Arne Næss Jr., Norwegian mountain climber (b. 1937)
2004 ? Harold Shipman, British serial killer (b. 1946)
2004 ? Zeno Vendler, American philosopher of language (b. 1921)
2005 ? Earl Cameron, Canadian broadcaster (b. 1915)
2005 ? Nell Rankin, American mezzo-soprano (b. 1924)
2006 ? Frank Fixaris, American sportscaster (b. 1934)
2006 ? Marc Potvin, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1967)
2007 ? Michael Brecker, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1949)
2007 ? Danny Oakes, American racecar driver (b. 1911)
2008 ? Sergei Larin, Lithuanian tenor (b. 1956)
2008 ? Johnny Podres, American baseball player (b. 1932)
2009 ? Doña Mary Ejercito, Filipino supercentarian, mother of Joseph Ejercito Estrada (b. 1905)
2009 ? Patrick McGoohan, American actor (b. 1928)
2009 ? Mansour Rahbani, Lebanese composer and lyricist (b. 1925)
2009 ? Nancy Bird Walton, Australian aviator (b. 1915)
2009 ? William De Witt Snodgrass, American poet under the pseudonym S. S. Gardons (b. 1926)
2010 ? Teddy Pendergrass, American R&B singer (b. 1950)
2010 ? Jay Reatard, American garage punk musician (b. 1980)
2010 ? Kalifa Tillisi, Libyan writer and linguist
[edit]Holidays and observances
Christian Feast Day
Hilary of Poitiers
Knut (Sweden and Finland)
Mungo
January 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Old New Year, celebrated on the night of January 13 or 14. (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Serbia, Montenegro, Republic of Srpska, Republic of Macedonia)
Sidereal winter solstice's eve celebrations in South and Southeast Asian cultures; the last day of the six months Dakshinayana period (see January 14):
Bhogi (Tamil)
Lohri (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh)
Uruka (Assam)
St. Knut's Day or Tjugondag Knut, the last day of Christmas. (Sweden and Finland)
