Today in History

January 28 Events

2012-01-28T01:09:00.000-08:00

# 1077 – Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor is lifted.
# 1521 – The Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
# 1547 – Henry VIII dies. His nine year old son, Edward VI becomes King, and the first Protestant ruler of England.
# 1573 – Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.
# 1624 – Sir Thomas Warner founds the first British colony in the Caribbean, on the island of Saint Kitts.
# 1724 – The Russian Academy of Sciences is founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented by Senate decree. It is called the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917.
# 1754 – Horace Walpole coins the word serendipity in a letter to Horace Mann.
# 1760 – Pownal, Vermont is created by Benning Wentworth as one of the New Hampshire Grants.
# 1813 – Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.
# 1820 – A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovers the Antarctic continent approaching the Antarctic coast.
# 1821 – Alexander Island is first discovered by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen.
# 1846 – The Battle of Aliwal, India, is won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith.
# 1851 – Northwestern University becomes the first chartered university in Illinois.
# 1855 – The first locomotive runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean on the Panama Railway.
# 1871 – Franco-Prussian War: the Siege of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice.
# 1878 – Yale Daily News becomes the first daily college newspaper in the United States.
# 1887 – In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the world's largest snowflakes are reported, 15 inches (38 cm) wide and 8 inches (20 cm) thick.
# 1896 – Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent became the first person to be convicted of speeding. He is fined 1 shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), thus exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h).
# 1902 – The Carnegie Institution of Washington is founded in Washington, D.C. with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.
# 1908 – Members of the Portuguese Republican Party fail in their attempted coup d'état against the administrative dictatorship of Prime Minister João Franco.
# 1909 – United States troops leave Cuba with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish-American War.
# 1915 – An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard.
# 1917 – Municipally owned streetcars take to the streets of San Francisco, California.
# 1918 – Finnish Civil War: Rebels seized control of the capital, Helsinki, and members of the Senate of Finland go underground.
# 1922 – Knickerbocker Storm, Washington D.C.'s biggest snowfall, causes the city's greatest loss of life when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre collapses.
# 1932 – Japanese forces attack Shanghai.
# 1933 – The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhary Rehmat Ali Khan and is accepted by the Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
# 1934 – The first ski tow in the United States begins operation in Vermont.
# 1935 – Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion.
# 1938 – The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by driver Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195 at a speed of 432.7 kilometres per hour (268.9 mph).
# 1941 – French-Thai War: Final air battle of the conflict. Japanese-mediated armistice goes into effect later in the day.
# 1945 – World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
# 1956 – Elvis Presley made his first US TV appearance
# 1958 – The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today.
# 1958 – The last episode of the British radio comedy programme Goon Show was broadcast.
# 1964 – An unarmed USAF T-39 Sabreliner on a training mission is shot down over Erfurt, East Germany, by a Soviet MiG-19.
# 1965 – The current design of the Flag of Canada is chosen by an act of Parliament.
# 1977 – The first day of the Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977, which severely affects and cripples much of Upstate New York, but Buffalo, NY, Syracuse, NY, Watertown, NY, and surrounding areas are most affected, each area accumulating close to 10 feet (3.0 m) of snow on this one day.
# 1980 – USCGC Blackthorn collides with the tanker Capricorn while leaving Tampa Florida and capsizes killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.
# 1981 – Ronald Reagan lifts remaining domestic petroleum price and allocation controls in the United States helping to end the 1979 energy crisis and begin the 1980s oil glut.
# 1982 – US Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces from captivity by the Red Brigades.
# 1984 – Tropical Storm Domoina makes landfall in southern Mozambique, eventually causing 214 deaths and some of the most severe flooding so far recorded in the region.
# 1985 – Supergroup USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) records the hit single We Are the World, to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief.
# 1986 – Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission – Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart after liftoff killing all seven astronauts on board.
# 1988 – The last episode of the British TV series Yes, Prime Minister, entitled The Tangled Web, was broadcast.
# 2002 – TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia killing 92.
# 2006 – The roof of one of the buildings at the Katowice International Fair in Chorzów / Katowice, Poland, collapses due to the weight of snow, killing 65 and injuring more than 170 others.
# 2010 – Five murderers of President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh: Lieutenant Colonel Syed Faruq Rahman, Lieutenant Colonel Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Major AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, Major Bazlul Huda and Lieutenant Colonel Mohiuddin Ahmed are hanged.
# 2011 – Hundreds of thousands of protesters filled up the Egyptian's streets in demonstrations referred to as "Friday of Anger" against the Mubarak regime.

January 28 Birthdays

2012-01-28T00:15:00.000-08:00

* 1225 – Saint Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274)
* 1312 – Queen Joan II of Navarre (d. 1349)
* 1457 – King Henry VII of England (d. 1509)
* 1540 – Ludolph van Ceulen, German mathematician (d. 1610)
* 1582 – John Barclay, Scottish writer (d. 1621)
* 1600 – Pope Clement IX (d. 1669)
* 1608 – Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (d. 1679)
* 1611 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish-born astronomer (d. 1687)
* 1622 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer (d. 1691)
* 1701 – Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (d. 1774)
* 1706 – John Baskerville, English printer (d. 1775)
* 1712 – Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shogun (d. 1761)
* 1717 – Mustafa III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1774)
* 1719 – Johann Elias Schlegel, German critic and poet (d. 1749)
* 1755 – Samuel Thomas von Sömmering, German physician (d. 1830)
* 1784 – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the UK (d. 1860)
* 1818 – George S. Boutwell, American politician, 20th Governor of Massachusetts and later the 28th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1905)
* 1822 – Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1892)
* 1833 – Charles George 'Chinese' Gordon, British soldier and administrator (d. 1885)
* 1841 – Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh-born explorer and journalist (d. 1904)
* 1853 – José Martí, Cuban revolutionary (d. 1895)
* 1857 – William Seward Burroughs I, American inventor (d. 1898)
* 1858 – Tannatt William Edgeworth David, KBE, DSO, FRS, Welsh-born Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer (d. 1934)
* 1861 – Julián Felipe, Filipino musician (d. 1944)
* 1863 – Ernest William Christmas, Australian painter (d. 1918)
* 1864 – Charles W. Nash, American automobile entrepreneur (d. 1948)
* 1864 – Herbert Akroyd Stuart, English inventor (d. 1927)
* 1865 – Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1928)
* 1865 – Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, first president of Finland (d. 1952)
* 1873 – Colette, French writer (d. 1954)
* 1874 – Vsevolod Meyerhold, Russian theatre director (d. 1940)
* 1880 – Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer (d. 1970)
* 1884 – Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist (d. 1962)
* 1886 – Marthe Bibesco, Romanian writer (d. 1973)
* 1886 – Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese electrical engineer (d. 1976)
* 1887 – Arthur Rubinstein, Polish pianist (d. 1982)
* 1890 – Robert Stroud, American convict, the Birdman of Alcatraz (d. 1963)
* 1891 – Bill Doak, American baseball player (d. 1954)
* 1892 – Ernst Lubitsch, German-born film director (d. 1947)
* 1897 – Valentin Kataev, Russian writer (d. 1986)
* 1899 – Elias Simojoki, Finnish clergyman and politician (d. 1940)
* 1900 – Alice Neel, American artist (d. 1984)
* 1903 – Aleksander Kamiński, Polish writer (d. 1978)
* 1904 – Canuplin, Filipino magician and bodabil entertainer (d. 1979)
* 1908 – Paul Misraki, French composer and songwriter (d. 1998)
* 1909 – John Thomson, Scottish footballer (d. 1931)
* 1910 – John Banner, Austrian actor (d. 1973)
* 1910 – Arnold Moss, American actor (d. 1989)
* 1911 – Johan van Hulst, Dutch politician
* 1912 – Jackson Pollock, American painter (d. 1956)
* 1915 – Nien Cheng, Chinese-born American writer (d. 2009)
* 1918 – Harry Corbett, English puppeteer (Sooty) (d. 1989)
* 1918 – Trevor Skeet, New Zealand-born British politician (d. 2004)
* 1919 – Francis Gabreski, American fighter pilot (d. 2002)
* 1922 – Robert W. Holley, American biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1993)
* 1924 – Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian painter (d. 1976)
* 1925 – Scotty Bloch, American stage and television actress
* 1927 – Per Oscarsson, Swedish actor (d. 2010)
* 1927 – Ronnie Scott, British tenor saxophonist and club owner (d. 1996)
* 1927 – Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director (d. 2001)
* 1929 – Acker Bilk, English jazz clarinetist
* 1929 – Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-born artist
* 1930 – Kurt Biedenkopf, German politician
* 1933 – Jack Hill, American film director
* 1934 – Juan Manuel Bordeu, Argentine racing driver (d. 1990)
* 1934 – Mitr Chaibancha, Thai actor (d. 1970)
* 1935 – David Lodge, English author
* 1936 – Alan Alda, American actor, writer, and director
* 1936 – Ismail Kadare, Albanian writer
* 1938 – Leonid Zhabotynsky, Ukrainian weightlifter
* 1939 – John M. Fabian, NASA astronaut
* 1940 – Carlos Slim, Mexican businessman
* 1941 – Joel Crothers, American actor (d. 1985)
* 1941 – Osbourne 'King Tubby' Ruddock, Jamaican musician and sound engineer (d. 1989)
* 1943 – John Beck, American actor
* 1943 – Paul Henderson, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1943 – Dick Taylor, English musician (The Rolling Stones and The Pretty Things)
* 1944 – Susan Howard, American actress
* 1944 – John Tavener, English composer
* 1945 – Karen Lynn Gorney, American actress
* 1945 – Marthe Keller, Swiss actress
* 1945 – John Perkins, American author and activist
* 1945 – Robert Wyatt, English musician
* 1947 – Jeanne Shaheen, American politician, senior senator of New Hampshire
* 1948 – Charles Taylor, former (22nd) President of Liberia
* 1949 – Tom Downey, former American Congressman
* 1949 – Gregg Popovich, American basketball coach
* 1950 – Barbi Benton, American actress
* 1950 – David C. Hilmers, NASA astronaut
* 1950 – Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah, King of Bahrain
* 1950 – Bob Hay, American songwriter and musician
* 1951 – Brian Bilbray, American politician
* 1951 – Leonid Kadeniuk, Ukrainian cosmonaut
* 1953 – Colin Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player and executive
* 1953 – Chris Carter, English musician (Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey)
* 1954 – Rick Warren, American pastor and author
* 1955 – Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France
* 1957 – Mark Napier, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1957 – Frank Skinner, British comedian
* 1957 – Nick Price, Zimbabwean golfer
* 1959 – Burkhard Dallwitz, German-born composer
* 1959 – Frank Darabont, American filmmaker
* 1959 – Megan McDonald, American children's literature author
* 1959 – Randi Rhodes, radio personality
* 1959 – Dave Sharp, Welsh guitarist (The Alarm)
* 1960 – Robert von Dassanowsky, American historian, writer, and producer
* 1961 – Arnaldur Indridason, Icelandic writer
* 1961 – Normand Rochefort, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1962 – Keith Hamilton Cobb, American actor
* 1962 – Creflo Dollar, American televangelist
* 1962 – Sam Phillips, American singer
* 1963 – Dan Spitz, American musician, guitarist (Anthrax)
* 1965 – Lynda Boyd, American actress
* 1967 – Jan Lamb, Chinese disc jockey & comedian
* 1968 – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer and songwriter
* 1968 – DJ Muggs, American musician (Cypress Hill)
* 1968 – Rakim (William Michael Griffin Jr.), American rapper
* 1969 – Kathryn Morris, American actress
* 1969 – Mo Rocca, American writer and comedian
* 1969 – Linda Sanchez, American politician
* 1971 – Anthony Hamilton, American soul singer
* 1972 – Nicky Southall, English footballer
* 1974 – Tony Delk, American basketball player
* 1974 – Jermaine Dye, American baseball player
* 1974 – Magglio Ordóñez, Venezuelan baseball player
* 1975 – Terri Colombino, American actress
* 1975 – Tanya Chua, Singaporean singer
* 1975 – Lee Latchford-Evans, English singer
* 1975 – Anne Montminy, Canadian diver
* 1975 – Junior Spivey, American baseball player
* 1976 – Lee Ingleby, British actor
* 1976 – Emiko Kado, Japanese wrestler (d. 1999)
* 1976 – Mark Madsen, American basketball player
* 1976 – Jarrod Montague, American drummer (Taproot)
* 1976 – Rick Ross, rapper
* 1976 – Miltiadis Sapanis, Greek footballer
* 1977 – Daunte Culpepper, American football player
* 1977 – Matt DeVries, American guitarist (Chimaira)
* 1977 – Joey Fatone, American singer (*NSYNC)
* 1977 – Lyle Overbay, American baseball player
* 1977 – Takuma Sato, Japanese racing driver
* 1978 – Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
* 1978 – Jamie Carragher, English footballer
* 1978 – Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer
* 1978 – Stephen Farrelly, Irish professional wrestler
* 1979 – Ali Boulala, Swedish skateboarder
* 1980 – Nick Carter, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
* 1980 – Yasuhito Endo, Japanese footballer
* 1980 – Jesse James Hollywood, American drug dealer and fugitive
* 1981 – Elijah Wood, American actor
* 1984 – Stephen Gostkowski, American football player
* 1984 – Andre Iguodala, American basketball player
* 1985 – Daniel Carcillo, Canadian hockey player
* 1985 – J. Cole, American rapper
* 1985 – Arnold Mvuemba, French footballer
* 1985 – Libby Trickett, Australian swimmer
* 1986 – Jessica Ennis, British athlete
* 1986 – Shruti Haasan, Indian actress
* 1987 – Chelsea Brummet, American actress
* 1988 – Paul Henry, English footballer
* 1989 – Siem de Jong, Dutch footballer
* 1989 – Josh Coulson, English footballer
* 1990 – Kalifa Fai-Fai Loa, New Zealand rugby league footballer
* 1990 – Alexandra Krosney, American actress
* 1991 – Calum Worthy, Canadian actor and musician
* 1992 – Andrei Savchenko, Russian professional footballer
* 1993 – Will Poulter, English actor
* 1998 – Ariel Winter, American actress (Modern Family)

January 27, 1606- The Gunpowder Plot Trial Begins

2012-01-27T12:43:00.000-08:00

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.

The plan was to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of England's Parliament on 5 November 1605, as the prelude to a popular revolt in the Midlands during which James's nine-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, was to be installed as the Catholic head of state. Catesby may have embarked on the scheme after hopes of securing greater religious tolerance under King James had faded, leaving many English Catholics disappointed. His fellow plotters were John Wright, Thomas Wintour, Thomas Percy, Guy Fawkes, Robert Keyes, Thomas Bates, Robert Wintour, Christopher Wright, John Grant, Sir Ambrose Rookwood, Sir Everard Digby and Francis Tresham. Fawkes, who had 10 years of military experience fighting in the Spanish Netherlands in suppression of the Dutch Revolt, was given charge of the explosives.

The plot was revealed to the authorities in an anonymous letter sent to William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, on 26 October 1605. During a search of the House of Lords at about midnight on 4 November 1605, Fawkes was discovered guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder—enough to reduce the House of Lords to rubble—and arrested. Most of the conspirators fled from London as they learnt of the plot's discovery, trying to enlist support along the way. Several made a stand against the pursuing Sheriff of Worcester and his men at Holbeche House; in the ensuing battle Catesby was one of those shot and killed. At their trial on 27 January 1606, eight of the survivors, including Fawkes, were convicted and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered.

Details of the assassination attempt were allegedly known by the principal Jesuit of England, Father Henry Garnet. Although Garnet was convicted and sentenced to death, doubt has since been cast on how much he really knew of the plot. As its existence was revealed to him through confession, Garnet was prevented from informing the authorities by the absolute confidentiality of the confessional. Although anti-Catholic legislation was introduced soon after the plot's discovery, many important and loyal Catholics retained high office during King James I's reign. The thwarting of the Gunpowder Plot was commemorated for many years afterwards by special sermons and other public events such as the ringing of church bells, which have evolved into the Bonfire Night of today.

The surviving conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot were arraigned in Westminster Hall on January 27, 1606. Seven of the prisoners were taken from the Tower to the Star Chamber by barge. Thomas Bates, who was considered lower class, was brought from the Gatehouse Prison. Some of the prisoners were reportedly despondent, but others were nonchalant, even smoking tobacco. The King and his family, hidden from view, were among the many who watched the trial. The Lords Commissioners present were the Earls of Suffolk, Worcester, Northampton, Devonshire, and Salisbury. Sir John Popham was Lord Chief Justice, Sir Thomas Fleming was Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and two Justices, Sir Thomas Walmsley and Sir Peter Warburton, sat as Justices of the Common Pleas. The list of traitors' names was read aloud, beginning with those of the priests: Henry Garnet, Oswald Tesimond, and John Gerard.

The first to speak was the Speaker of the House of Commons (later Master of the Rolls), Sir Edward Philips, who described the intent behind the plot in lurid detail. He was followed by the Attorney-General Sir Edward Coke, who began with a long speech—the content of which was heavily influenced by Salisbury—that included a denial that the King had ever made any promises to the Catholics. William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle's part in the discovery of the plot was welcomed, and denouncements of the 1603 mission to Spain featured strongly. Guy Fawkes's protestations that Gerard knew nothing of the plot were omitted from Coke's speech. The foreign powers, when mentioned, were accorded due respect, but the priests were accursed, their behavior analyzed and criticized wherever possible. There was little doubt, according to Coke, that the plot had been invented by the Jesuits. Garnet's meeting with Robert Catesby, at which the former was said to have absolved the latter of any blame in the plot, was proof enough that the Jesuits were central to the conspiracy; according to Coke the Gunpowder Plot would always be known as the Jesuit Treason. Coke spoke with feeling of the probable fate of the Queen and the rest of the King's family, and of the innocents who would have been caught up in the explosion.

Each of the condemned, said Coke, would be drawn backwards to his death, by a horse, his head near the ground. He was to be "put to death halfway between heaven and earth as unworthy of both". His genitals would be cut off and burnt before his eyes, and his bowels and heart then removed. Then he would be decapitated, and the dismembered parts of his body displayed so that they might become "prey for the fowls of the air". Confessions and declarations from the prisoners were then read aloud, and finally the prisoners were allowed to speak. Rookwood claimed that he had been drawn into the plot by Catesby, "whom he loved above any worldy man". Thomas Wintour begged to be hanged for himself and his brother, so that his brother might be spared. Fawkes explained his not guilty plea as ignorance of certain aspects of the indictment. Keyes appeared to accept his fate, Bates and Robert Wintour begged for mercy, and Grant explained his involvement as "a conspiracy intended but never effected". Only Digby, tried on a separate indictment, pleaded guilty, insisting that the King had reneged upon promises of toleration for Catholics, and that affection for Catesby and love of the Catholic cause mitigated his actions. He sought death by the axe and begged mercy from the King for his young family. His defense was in vain; his arguments were rebuked by Coke and Northumberland, and along with his seven co-conspirators, he was found guilty by the jury of high treason. Digby shouted "If I may but hear any of your lordships say, you forgive me, I shall go more cheerfully to the gallows." The response was short: "God forgive you, and we do."

Garnet may have been questioned on as many as 23 occasions. His response to the threat of the rack was "Minare ista pueris [Threats are only for boys]", and he denied having encouraged Catholics to pray for the success of the "Catholic Cause". His interrogators resorted to the forgery of correspondence between Garnet and other Catholics, but to no avail. His jailers then allowed him to talk with another priest in a neighbouring cell, with eavesdroppers listening to every word. Eventually Garnet let slip a crucial piece of information, that there was only one man who could testify that he had any knowledge of the plot. Under torture Garnet admitted that he had heard of the plot from fellow Jesuit Oswald Tesimond, who had learnt of it in confession from Catesby. Garnet was charged with high treason and tried in the Guildhall on 28 March, in a trial lasting from 8 am until 7 pm. According to Coke, Garnet instigated the plot: "[Garnet] hath many gifts and endowments of nature, by art learned, a good linguist and, by profession, a Jesuit and a Superior as indeed he is Superior to all his predecessors in devilish treason, a Doctor of Dissimulation, Deposing of Princes, Disposing of Kingdoms, Daunting and deterring of subjects, and Destruction." Garnet refuted all the charges against him, and explained the Catholic position on such matters, but he was nevertheless found guilty and sentenced to death.

January 27 Events

2012-01-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

* 98 – Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva.
* 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate ends with death of Ali.
* 1142 – Execution, believed wrongful, of noted Song Dynasty General Yue Fei.
* 1186 – Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, marries Constance of Sicily.
* 1343 – Pope Clement VI issues the Bull Unigenitus.
* 1593 – The Vatican opens seven year trial of scholar Giordano Bruno.
* 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31.
* 1695 – Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan in Istanbul on the death of Ahmed II. Mustafa rules until his abdication in 1703.
* 1785 – The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States.
* 1825 – The U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the "Trail of Tears".
* 1868 – Boshin War: The Battle of Toba-Fushimi between forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and pro-Imperial factions begins, which will end in defeat for the shogunate, and is a pivotal point in the Meiji Restoration.
* 1870 – The Kappa Alpha Theta fraternity is founded at DePauw University.
* 1888 – The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C..
* 1909 – The Young Left is founded in Norway.
* 1927 – Ibn Saud takes the title of King of Nejd.
* 1939 – First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
* 1943 – World War II: The VIII Bomber Command dispatched ninety-one B-17s and B-24s to attack the U-Boat construction yards at Wilhemshafen, Germany. The first American bombing attack on Germany.
* 1944 – World War II: The 900-day Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
* 1945 – World War II: The Red Army liberates the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.
* 1951 – Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with a one-kiloton bomb dropped on Frenchman Flat.
* 1961 – Soviet submarine S-80 sinks with all hands lost.
* 1967 – Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
* 1967 – The United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union sign the Outer Space Treaty in Washington, D.C., banning deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and limiting use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes.
* 1973 – The Paris Peace Accords officially end the Vietnam War. Colonel William Nolde is killed in action becoming the conflict's last recorded American combat casualty.
* 1974 – The Brisbane River breaches its banks causing the largest flood to affect the city of Brisbane in the 20th Century
* 1980 – Through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escape hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian caper.
* 1983 – The pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, breaks through.
* 1984 – Pop singer Michael Jackson suffers second degree burns to his scalp during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in the Shrine Auditorium.
* 1993 – American-born sumo wrestler Akebono Tarō becomes the first foreigner to be promoted to the sport's highest rank of yokozuna.
* 1996 – In a military coup Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane.
* 1996 – Germany first observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
* 2002 – An explosion at a military storage facility in Lagos, Nigeria, kills at least 1,100 people and displaces over 20,000 others.
* 2003 – The first selections for the National Recording Registry are announced by the Library of Congress.
* 2006 – Western Union discontinues its Telegram and Commercial Messaging services.
* 2010 – The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis ends when Porfirio Lobo Sosa becomes the new President of Honduras.

January 27 Birthdays

2012-01-27T00:35:00.000-08:00

* 1443 – Albert, Duke of Saxony (d. 1500)
* 1546 – Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1608)
* 1585 – Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (d. 1634)
* 1603 – Harbottle Grimston, English politician (d. 1685)
* 1621 – Thomas Willis, English physician (d. 1675)
* 1662 – Richard Bentley, English classical scholar (d. 1742)
* 1687 – Johann Balthasar Neumann, German architect (d. 1753)
* 1701 – Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, German historian (d. 1790)
* 1708 – Anna Petrovna of Russia (d. 1728)
* 1720 – Samuel Foote, English dramatist (d. 1777)
* 1741 – Hester Thrale, Welsh diarist (d. 1821)
* 1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer (d. 1791)
* 1774 – Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, German philosopher (d. 1854)
* 1805 – Maria Anna of Bavaria, Queen consort of Saxony (d. 1877)
* 1805 – Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria (d. 1872)
* 1805 – Samuel Palmer, English artist (d. 1881)
* 1806 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer (d. 1826)
* 1807 – David Strauss, German theologian and writer (d. 1874)
* 1814 – Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect (d. 1879)
* 1821 – John Chivington, American officer (d. 1892)
* 1823 – Edouard Lalo, French composer (d. 1892)
* 1826 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian writer (d. 1889)
* 1826 – Richard Taylor, American confederate general (d. 1879)
* 1827 – Nakahama Manjirō, Japanese translator (d. 1898)
* 1832 – Lewis Carroll, English author (d. 1898)
* 1836 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian writer (d. 1895)
* 1841 – Arkhip Kuindzhi, Russian painter (d. 1910)
* 1848 – Togo Heihachiro, Japanese admiral (d. 1934)
* 1850 – John Collier, British writer and painter (d. 1934)
* 1850 – Samuel Gompers, American labor leader (d. 1924)
* 1850 – Edward J. Smith, English captain of the RMS Titanic (d. 1912)
* 1859 – Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany (d. 1941)
* 1875 – Elizabeth Israel, Purported world's oldest person (d. 2003)
* 1885 – Jerome Kern, American composer (d. 1945)
* 1885 – Eduard Künneke, German composer (d. 1953)
* 1885 – Maeda Seison, Japanese painter (d. 1977)
* 1886 – Radhabinod Pal, Indian jurist (d. 1967)
* 1891 – Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian writer (d. 1967)
* 1893 – Soong Ching-ling, Chinese wife of Sun Yat-sen (d. 1981)
* 1895 – Joseph Rosenstock, Polish conductor (d. 1985)
* 1895 – Harry Ruby, American composer (d. 1974)
* 1900 – Hyman Rickover, American admiral (d. 1986)
* 1901 – Willy Fritsch, German actor (d. 1973)
* 1901 – Art Rooney, Pittsburgh Steelers founder and owner (d. 1988)
* 1903 – John Carew Eccles, Australian neuropsychologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1997)
* 1903 – Otto P. Weyland, American military figure (d. 1979)
* 1904 – James J. Gibson, American ecological psychologist (d. 1973)
* 1905 – Howard McNear, American actor (d. 1969)
* 1908 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American newspaper magnate (d. 1993)
* 1908 – Oran Page, American musician (jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader) (d. 1954)
* 1910 – Edvard Kardelj, Yugoslav Communist politician (d. 1979)
* 1912 – Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher (d. 2009)
* 1912 – Francis Rogallo, American aeronautical engineer (d. 2009)
* 1915 – Jules Archer, American historian (d. 2008)
* 1915 – Jacques Hnizdovsky, Ukrainian-born artist (d. 1985)
* 1918 – Skitch Henderson, American bandleader (d. 2005)
* 1918 – Elmore James, American blues musician (d. 1963)
* 1918 – William Seawell, United States Army Brigadier General (d. 2005)
* 1919 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., American musician (d. 1972)
* 1920 – John Box, British film production designer and art director (d. 2005)
* 1920 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist (d. 2002)
* 1921 – Donna Reed, American actress (d. 1986)
* 1924 – Sabu Dastagir, Indian actor (d. 1963)
* 1926 – Fritz Spiegl, Austrian journalist (d. 2003)
* 1926 – Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (d. 2004)
* 1927 – Jerry Haynes, American actor d. 2011
* 1928 – Michael Craig, British actor
* 1928 – Hans Modrow, German politician, premier of East Germany
* 1929 – Gastón Suárez, Bolivian novelist (d. 1984)
* 1930 – Bobby Blue Bland, American singer
* 1931 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author (d. 2001)
* 1932 – Boris Shakhlin, Soviet gymnast (d. 2008)
* 1933 – Mohamed Al-Fayed, Egyptian businessman
* 1934 – George Follmer, American racecar driver
* 1936 – Troy Donahue, American actor (d. 2001)
* 1936 – Samuel C. C. Ting, American physicist, Nobel laureate
* 1937 – John Ogdon, English pianist (d. 1989)
* 1937 – Fred Åkerström, Swedish singer
* 1940 – James Cromwell, American actor
* 1940 – Terry Harper, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1940 – Petru Lucinschi, second President of Moldova
* 1941 – Beatrice Tinsley, New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist (d. 1981)
* 1942 – Stewart Raffill, American film director
* 1942 – John Witherspoon, American actor
* 1942 – Kate Wolf, American folk singer and songwriter (d. 1986)
* 1944 – Peter Akinola, Nigerian religious leader
* 1944 – Mairéad Corrigan, Irish activist, Nobel laureate
* 1944 – Nick Mason, English drummer (Pink Floyd)
* 1945 – Harold Cardinal, Cree political leader (d. 2005)
* 1946 – Nedra Talley, American singer (Ronettes)
* 1947 – Björn Afzelius, Swedish singer (d. 1999)
* 1947 – Vyron Polydoras, Greek politician
* 1947 – Cal Schenkel, American artist
* 1948 –Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian ballet dancer
* 1948 – Valeri Brainin, Russian/German musicologist, music manager, composer, and poet
* 1948 – Jean-Philippe Collard, French pianist
* 1949 – Ethan Mordden, American author
* 1950 – Derek Acorah, English spirit medium
* 1950 – Amos Grunebaum, Israeli-born physician
* 1951 – Brian Downey, Irish musician (drummer) (Thin Lizzy)
* 1952 – "White Shoes" Johnson, American football player
* 1954 – Peter Laird, American comic book artist
* 1954 – Ed Schultz, American radio talk show host
* 1954 – Jōkō Ninomiya, Japanese martial artist
* 1955 – Brian Engblom, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1955 – John G. Roberts, American jurist and the 17th Chief Justice of the United States
* 1955 – Alexander Stuart, British author
* 1955 – Koji Ushikubo, Japanese racing driver
* 1956 – Mimi Rogers, American actress
* 1957 – Janick Gers, British guitarist (Iron Maiden)
* 1957 – Frank Miller, American comic book author and film director
* 1957 – Frank Skinner, English writer and comedian
* 1958 – James Grippando, American novelist
* 1958 – Kadri Mälk, Estonian artist and jewelry designer
* 1958 – Susanna Thompson, American actress
* 1959 – Cris Collinsworth, American football player
* 1959 – Göran Hägglund, Swedish politician
* 1959 – Keith Olbermann, American news anchor & political commentator
* 1960 – Bernd Stieler, German footballer
* 1961 – Dina Bonnevie, Filipino actress
* 1961 – Gillian Gilbert, British musician (New Order)
* 1961 – Narciso Rodriguez, American fashion designer
* 1961 – Margo Timmins, Canadian singer (Cowboy Junkies)
* 1961 – Karen Velez, American model
* 1962 – Roberto Paci Dalò, Italian director and composer
* 1963 – Mark Moraghan, British actor and singer
* 1964 – Bridget Fonda, American actress
* 1964 – Jack Haley, American basketball player
* 1965 – Alan Cumming, Scottish actor
* 1965 – Mike Newell, English football manager
* 1967 – Bobby Deol, Indian actor
* 1967 – Byron Mann, Hong Kong actor
* 1967 – Dave Manson, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1968 – Patrick Blondeau, French footballer
* 1968 – Mike Patton, American singer-songwriter (Faith No More)
* 1968 – Matt Stover, American football player
* 1968 – Deb Talan, American folk singer and songwriter (The Weepies)
* 1968 – Tricky, English rapper
* 1969 – Cornelius, Japanese musician and producer (Flipper's Guitar)
* 1969 – Marc Forster, German-Swiss filmmaker
* 1969 – Michael Kulas, Canadian singer (James)
* 1969 – Patton Oswalt, American actor and writer
* 1970 – Emmanuel Pahud, Swiss-born flautist
* 1971 – Patrice Brisebois, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1971 – Lil Jon, American rapper
* 1971 – Fann Wong, Singaporean actress
* 1972 – Wynne Evans, Welsh operatic tenor
* 1972 – Janine Ilitch, Australian netballer
* 1972 – Mark Owen, English pop singer
* 1972 – Josh Randall, American actor
* 1972 – Keith Wood, Irish rugby player
* 1974 – Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Nordic biathlete
* 1974 – Andrei Pavel, Romanian tennis player
* 1974 – Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer
* 1976 –Clint Ford, American voice actor
* 1976 – Ahn Jung-Hwan, Korean football player
* 1976 – Ruby Lin, Taiwanese actress and singer
* 1976 – Todd MacCulloch, American basketball player
* 1976 – Zoriah Miller, American photojournalist
* 1976 – Fred Taylor, American football player
* 1978 – Pete Laforest, Canadian baseball player
* 1978 – Jake Pavelka, American reality TV star (The Bachelor)
* 1979 – Mario Fatafehi, American football player
* 1979 – Rosamund Pike, British actress
* 1979 – Liesbet Van Breedam, Belgian beach volleyball player
* 1979 – Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer
* 1980 – Chanda Gunn, American ice hockey player
* 1980 – Marat Safin, Russian tennis player
* 1981 – Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player
* 1981 – Tony Woodcock, New Zealand rugby union player
* 1983 – Deon Anderson, American football player
* 1983 – Carlo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1983 – Paulo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1983 – Gavin Floyd, American baseball player
* 1983 – Tim Kasten, German rugby player
* 1983 – Mike Zagurski, American baseball player
* 1984 – Davetta Sherwood, American actress
* 1986 – Giorgi Loria, Georgian footballer
* 1987 – Lily Donaldson, British model
* 1987 – Katy Rose, American pop singer
* 1988 – Toni Gänge, German footballer
* 1988 – Kerlon, Brazilian footballer
* 1988 – Liu Wen, Chinese model
* 1989 – Daisy Lowe, British model
* 1989 – Carl Magnay, British footballer
* 1989 – Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Dutch footballer
* 1990 – Maria-Elena Papasotiriou, Greek-American figure skater
* 1992 – Stefano Pettinari, Italian professional footballer

January 26 Events

2012-01-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

* 1500 – Vicente Yáñez Pinzón becomes the first European to set foot on Brazil.
* 1531 – Lisbon, Portugal is hit by an earthquake--thousands die.
* 1564 – The Council of Trent issues its conclusions in the Tridentinum, establishing a distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
* 1564 – The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Tsardom of Russia in the Battle of Ula during the Livonian War.
* 1565 – Battle of Talikota, fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Islamic sultanates of the Deccan, leads to the subjugation, and eventual destruction of the last Hindu kingdom in India, and the consolidation of Islamic rule over much of the Indian subcontinent.
* 1589 – Job is elected as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
* 1699 – Treaty of Carlowitz is signed.
* 1700 – The magnitude 9 Cascadia Earthquake takes place off the west coast of the North America, as evidenced by Japanese records.
* 1736 – Stanislaus I of Poland abdicates his throne.
* 1788 – The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on the continent. Commemorated as Australia Day
* 1808 – Rum Rebellion, the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in Australia.
* 1837 – Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state.
* 1838 – Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the United States
* 1841 – The United Kingdom formally occupies Hong Kong, which China later formally cedes.
* 1855 – Point No Point Treaty is signed in Washington Territory.
* 1856 – First Battle of Seattle. Marines from the USS Decatur drive off American Indian attackers after all day battle with settlers.
* 1861 – American Civil War: The state of Louisiana secedes from the Union.
* 1863 – American Civil War: General Ambrose Burnside is relieved of command of the Army of the Potomac after the disastrous Fredericksburg campaign. He is replaced by Joseph Hooker.
* 1863 – American Civil War: Governor of Massachusetts John Albion Andrew receives permission from Secretary of War to raise a militia organization for men of African descent.
* 1870 – American Civil War: Virginia rejoins the Union.
* 1885 – Troops loyal to The Mahdi conquer Khartoum.
* 1905 – The world's largest diamond ever, the Cullinan weighing 3,106.75 carats (0.62135 kg), is found at the Premier Mine near Pretoria in South Africa.
* 1907 – The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III is officially introduced into British Military Service, and remains the second oldest military rifle still in official use.
* 1911 – Glenn H. Curtiss flies the first successful American seaplane.
* 1911 – Richard Strauss' opera Der Rosenkavalier receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera.
* 1918 – Finnish Civil War: A group of Red Guards hangs a red lantern atop the tower of Helsinki Workers' Hall to symbolically mark the start of the war.
* 1920 – Former Ford Motor Company executive Henry Leland launches the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer.
* 1924 – Saint Petersburg, Russia, is renamed Leningrad.
* 1930 – The Indian National Congress declares 26 January as Independence Day or as the day for Poorna Swaraj (Complete Independence) which occurred 20 years later.
* 1934 – The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.
* 1934 – German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact is signed.
* 1939 – Spanish Civil War: Troops loyal to nationalist General Francisco Franco and aided by Italy take Barcelona.
* 1942 – World War II: The first United States forces arrive in Europe landing in Northern Ireland.
* 1945 – World War II: The Red Army begins encircling the German Fourth Army near Heiligenbeil in East Prussia, which will end in destruction of the 4th Army two months later.
* 1949 – The Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory sees first light under the direction of Edwin Hubble, becoming the largest aperture optical telescope (until BTA-6 is built in 1976).
* 1950 – The Constitution of India comes into force, forming a republic. Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first President of India. Observed as Republic Day in India.
* 1952 – Black Saturday in Egypt: rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* 1958 – Japanese ferry Nankai Maru capsizes off southern Awaji Island, Japan, 167 killed.
* 1960 – Danny Heater sets a worldwide high school basketball scoring record when he records 135 points for Burnsville High School (West Virginia)
* 1961 – John F. Kennedy appoints Janet G. Travell to be his physician. This is the first time a woman holds this appointment.
* 1962 – Ranger program: Ranger 3 is launched to study the moon. The space probe later misses the moon by 22,000 miles (35,400 km).
* 1965 – Hindi becomes the official language of India.
* 1966 – The Beaumont Children go missing from Glenelg Beach near Adelaide, South Australia.
* 1978 – The Great Blizzard of 1978, a rare severe blizzard with the lowest non-tropical atmospheric pressure ever recorded in the US, strikes the Ohio – Great Lakes region with heavy snow and winds up to 100 mph (161 km/h).
* 1980 – Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations.
* 1991 – Mohamed Siad Barre is removed from power in Somalia, ending centralized government, and is succeeded by Ali Mahdi.
* 1992 – Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons.
* 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
* 2001 – An earthquake hits Gujarat, India, causing more than 20,000 deaths.
* 2004 – President Hamid Karzai signs the new constitution of Afghanistan.
* 2004 – A whale explodes in the town of Tainan, Taiwan. A build-up of gas in the decomposing sperm whale is suspected of causing the explosion.
* 2005 – Glendale train crash: Two trains derail killing 11 and injuring 200 in Glendale, California, near Los Angeles.
* 2009 – Rioting breaks out in Antananarivo, Madagascar, sparking a political crisis that will result in the replacement of President Marc Ravalomanana with Andry Rajoelina.

January 26 Birthdays

2012-01-26T00:06:00.000-08:00

* 1497 – Emperor Go-Nara of Japan (d. 1557)
* 1541 – Florent Chrestien, French writer (d. 1596)
* 1714 – Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor (d. 1785)
* 1716 – George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, British soldier and politician (d. 1785)
* 1722 – Alexander Carlyle, Scottish church leader (d. 1805)
* 1763 – Charles XIV John of Sweden, Napoleonic general (d. 1844)
* 1781 – Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet (d. 1831)
* 1813 – Juan Pablo Duarte, Dominican founding father (d. 1876)
* 1826 – Julia Dent-Grant, First Lady of the United States (d. 1902)
* 1832 – George Shiras Jr., U.S. Supreme Court justice (d. 1924)
* 1842 – François Coppée, French poet and novelist (d. 1908)
* 1852 – Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza (Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà), explorer (d. 1905)
* 1864 – József Pusztai, Slovene writer, poet and journalist in Hungary (d. 1934)
* 1878 – Dave Nourse, South African cricketer (d. 1948)
* 1880 – Douglas MacArthur, American general and Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1964)
* 1885 – Michael Considine, Australian politician (d. 1959)
* 1887 – François Faber, Luxembourgian cyclist (d. 1915)
* 1887 – Marc Mitscher, American admiral (d. 1947)
* 1891 – Frank Costello, Italian-born American gangster (d. 1973)
* 1891 – August Froehlich, German Roman Catholic priest, member of the resistance against Nazism and martyr (d.1942)
* 1891 – Wilder Penfield, American-born Canadian neurosurgeon (d. 1976)
* 1892 – Bessie Coleman, American pioneer aviator (d. 1926)
* 1892 – Zara Cully, American actress (d. 1978)
* 1893 – Giuseppe Genco Russo, Sicilian mafioso (d. 1976)
* 1900 – Karl Ristenpart, German conductor (d. 1967)
* 1902 – Menno ter Braak, Dutch author and polemicist (d. 1940)
* 1904 – Ancel Keys, American scientist (d. 2004)
* 1904 – Seán MacBride, Irish statesman, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1988)
* 1905 – Charles Lane, American actor (d. 2007)
* 1905 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian-born singer (d. 1987)
* 1908 – Jill Esmond, English actress (d. 1990)
* 1908 – Rupprecht Geiger, German painter (d. 2009)
* 1908 – Stéphane Grappelli, French jazz violinist (d. 1997)
* 1910 – Jean Image, Hungarian-born French animator (d. 1989)
* 1911 – Polykarp Kusch, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1993)
* 1911 – Norbert Schultze, German composer and songwriter (d. 2002)
* 1913 – Jimmy Van Heusen, American songwriter (d. 1990)
* 1914 – Princess Hadice Hayriye Ayshe Dürrühsehvar (d. 2006)
* 1915 – William Hopper, American actor (d. 1970)
* 1918 – Nicolae Ceauşescu, Romanian dictator (d. 1989)
* 1918 – Philip José Farmer, American writer (d. 2009)
* 1919 – Valentino Mazzola, Italian footballer (d. 1949)
* 1919 – Bill Nicholson, English footballer and manager for Tottenham Hotspur. (d. 2004)
* 1920 – Hans Holzer, American paranormal researcher (d. 2009)
* 1921 – Eddie Barclay, French producer (Barclay Records) (d. 2005)
* 1921 – Akio Morita, Japanese businessman (d. 1999)
* 1922 – Michael Bentine, British comedian (d. 1996)
* 1922 – Seán Flanagan, Irish Gaelic footballer and politician (d. 1993)
* 1923 – Anne Jeffreys, American actress
* 1924 – Alice Babs, Swedish singer
* 1924 – Rauf Denktaş, Cypriot politician
* 1924 – Annette Strauss, American philanthropist and politician (d. 1998)
* 1925 – Joan Leslie, American actress
* 1925 – Paul Newman, American actor, philanthropist, race car driver and race team owner (d. 2008)
* 1925 – Claude Ryan, Canadian newspaper editor (d. 2004)
* 1926 – Farman Fatehpuri, Pakistani scholar
* 1927 – José Azcona del Hoyo, President of Honduras (d. 2005)
* 1927 – Bob Nieman, American baseball player (d. 1985)
* 1928 – Roger Vadim, French film director and actor (d. 2000)
* 1929 – Jules Feiffer, American cartoonist and writer
* 1929 – Gordon Solie, American wrestling commentator (d. 2000)
* 1930 – Napoleón Abueva, Filipino sculptor
* 1931 – Mary Murphy, American film actress
* 1932 – Coxsone Dodd, Jamaican record producer
* 1932 – George Clements, American civil rights activist and Roman Catholic priest
* 1933 – Ercole Baldini, Italian cyclist
* 1934 – Roger Landry, Canadian businessman and newspaper publisher
* 1935 – Corrado Augias, Italian journalist, writer and TV personality
* 1935 – Bob Uecker, American baseball player and broadcaster
* 1936 – Sal Buscema, American comic book artist
* 1937 – Joseph Saidu Momoh, Sierra Leone political leader (d. 2003)
* 1941 – Scott Glenn, American actor
* 1941 – Henry Jaglom, English director
* 1942 – Souad Hosni, Egyptian actress (d. 2001)
* 1943 – César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 2005)
* 1943 – Jean Knight, American singer
* 1943 – Austin "Jack" Warner, Trinidadian FIFA Vice-President and CONCACAF President
* 1944 – Angela Davis, American feminist and activist
* 1945 – Jacqueline du Pré, English cellist (d. 1987)
* 1946 – Gene Siskel, American film critic (d. 1999)
* 1947 – Patrick Dewaere, French actor (d. 1982)
* 1947 – Michel Sardou, French singer
* 1949 – Jonathan Carroll, American author
* 1949 – David Strathairn, American actor
* 1950 – Jörg Haider, Austrian far-right politician (d. 2008)
* 1950 – Janet Lupo, American model
* 1951 – Walt Willey, American actor
* 1953 – Alik L. Alik, vice-president of the Federate States of Micronesie
* 1953 – Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Secretary General of NATO
* 1953 – Lucinda Williams, American singer
* 1954 – Kim Hughes, Australian cricketer
* 1955 – Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-American musician (Van Halen)
* 1958 – Anita Baker, American singer
* 1958 – Ellen DeGeneres, American actress and comedian
* 1958 – Salvador Sánchez, Mexican boxer
* 1960 – Road Warrior Animal, American professional wrestler
* 1960 – Charlie Gillingham, American musician (Counting Crows)
* 1961 – Li Cunxin, Chinese-Australian ballet dancer
* 1961 – Wayne Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1961 – Tom Keifer, American musician (Cinderella)
* 1962 – Oscar Ruggeri, Argentine footballer
* 1963 – Riddell Akua, Nauruan politician
* 1963 – José Mourinho, Portuguese football manager
* 1963 – Andrew Ridgeley, English musician
* 1963 – Gisela Valcarcel, Peruvian Hostess
* 1964 – Peter Braunstein, American journalist, writer, playwright, and rapist
* 1964 – Paul Johansson, American actor
* 1965 – Thomas Östros, Swedish politician
* 1965 – Natalia Yurchenko, Soviet gymnast
* 1967 – Pradip Somasundaran, Indian playback singer
* 1968 – Ravi Teja, Tollywood film actor
* 1969 – Michael O'Hearn, American bodybuilder
* 1970 – Kirk Franklin, American gospel singer
* 1970 – Tracy Middendorf, American actress
* 1971 – Bryan Callen, American actor
* 1971 – Dorian Gregory, American actor
* 1973 – Melvil Poupaud, French actor
* 1973 – Mayu Shinjo, Japanese manga artist
* 1974 – Shannon Hale, American author
* 1975 – Frankie Rayder, American model
* 1976 – Willie Adler, American guitar player
* 1976 – Hitomi, Japanese singer and songwriter
* 1977 – Vince Carter, American basketball player
* 1977 – Justin Gimelstob, American tennis player
* 1977 – Tye Tribbett, American Singer
* 1978 – Estéban Germán, Dominican baseball player
* 1978 – Corina Morariu, American tennis player
* 1978 – Kelly Stables, American actress
* 1979 – Sara Rue, American actress
* 1980 – Brian Fallon, American musician (The Gaslight Anthem)
* 1980 – Sanae Kobayashi, Japanese voice actress
* 1981 – Gustavo Dudamel, Venezuelan Composer/Conductor
* 1981 – Juan Jose Haedo, Argentinian Cyclist
* 1982 – Brahim Takioullah, Moroccan Guiness World Records holder for the "World's largest feet"
* 1982 – Reggie Hodges, American football player
* 1983 – Petri Oravainen, Finnish footballer
* 1983 – Su Hwan Lee, South Korean footballer
* 1984 – Layla Kayleigh, British television personality
* 1984 – Wu Qian, Chinese classical pianist
* 1984 – Iain Turner, Scottish footballer
* 1984 – Luo Xuejuan, Chinese swimmer
* 1986 – Gerald Green, American basketball player
* 1986 – Matt Heafy, American musician (Trivium)
* 1986 – Hero, South Korean singer (TVXQ)
* 1986 – Shantelle Malawski, Canadian professional wrestler
* 1986 – Thiago Pereira, Brazilian swimmer
* 1987 – Vladimir Garin, Russian actor (d. 2003)
* 1987 – Mia Rose, English/Portuguese singer
* 1987 – Marlon Mario Brandao da Silveira, Brazilian footballer
* 1988 – Yukiyo Mine, Japanese footballer
* 1989 – Marshon Brooks, American basketball player
* 1989 – Emily Hughes, American figure skater
* 1990 – Christopher Massey, American actor
* 1990 – Sergio Pérez, Mexican racing driver
* 1993 – Cameron Bright, Canadian actor
* 1993 – Peter Čerešňák, Slovak ice hockey player
* 1996 – Tyger Drew-Honey, British actor

January 25 Birthdays

2012-01-25T02:00:00.000-08:00

* 750 – Leo IV the Khazar, Byzantine Emperor (d. 780)
* 1477 – Anna, Duchess of Brittany, wife of Charles VIII of France (d. 1514)
* 1509 – Giovanni Morone, Italian cardinal (d. 1580)
* 1615 – Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (d. 1660)
* 1627 – Robert Boyle, Irish chemist (d. 1691)
* 1634 – Gaspar Fagel, Dutch statesman (d. 1688)
* 1640 – William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, English soldier and statesman (d. 1707)
* 1688 – Juraj Jánošík, famous Slovak outlaw (d. 1713)
* 1736 – Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Italian-born mathematician (d. 1813)
* 1739 – Charles François Dumouriez, French general (d. 1823)
* 1743 – Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, German philosopher (d. 1819)
* 1755 – Paolo Mascagni, Anatomist (d. 1815)
* 1759 – Robert Burns, Scottish poet (d. 1796)
* 1777 – Karoline Jagemann, German actor (d. 1848)
* 1794 – François-Vincent Raspail, French chemist (d. 1878)
* 1796 – William MacGillivray, Scottish naturalist and ornithologist (d. 1852)
* 1813 – James Marion Sims, American physician (d. 1883)
* 1822 – Charles Reed Bishop, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1915)
* 1824 – Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Bengali author. (d. 1873)
* 1825 – George Pickett, American Confederate General (d. 1875)
* 1841 – Jackie Fisher, British First Sea Lord (d. 1920)
* 1858 – Kokichi Mikimoto, Japanese pearl farmer (d. 1954)
* 1860 – Charles Curtis, 31st Vice President of the United States (d. 1936)
* 1864 – Julije Kempf, Croatian historian and writer (d. 1934)
* 1868 – Juventino Rosas, Mexican composer (d. 1894)
* 1874 – W. Somerset Maugham, English writer (d. 1965)
* 1878 – Ernst Alexanderson, Swedish television pioneer (d. 1975)
* 1882 – Virginia Woolf, English writer (d. 1941)
* 1885 – Kitahara Hakushū, Japanese poet and children's author (d. 1942)
* 1886 – Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor (d. 1954)
* 1896 – Florence Mills, American cabaret singer, dancer, and comedian (d. 1927)
* 1899 – Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian politician (d. 1972)
* 1900 – István Fekete, Hungarian writer (d. 1970)
* 1900 – Yojiro Ishizaka, Japanese writer (d. 1986)
* 1901 – Martin De Alzaga, Argentine racing driver (d. 1982)
* 1902 – Pablo Antonio, Filipino modernist architect (d. 1975)
* 1905 – Maurice Roy, French-Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 1985)
* 1913 –Huang Hua, Chinese statesman (d. 2010)
* 1913 – Witold Lutosławski, Polish composer (d. 1994)
* 1913 – Luis Marden, American photojournalist (d. 2003)
* 1916 – Frank "Pop" Ivy, American football coach (d. 2003)
* 1917 – Ilya Prigogine, Russian scientist Nobel Laureate (d. 2003)
* 1917 – Jânio Quadros, Brazilian politician (d. 1992)
* 1918 – Ernie Harwell, American baseball sportscaster (d. 2010)
* 1919 – Edwin Newman, American broadcast journalist (d. 2010)
* 1921 – Samuel T. Cohen, American physicist (d. 2010)
* 1923 – Arvid Carlsson, Swedish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
* 1923 – Rusty Draper, American country and pop singer (d. 2003)
* 1923 – Shirley Ardell Mason, American psychiatric patient (d. 1998)
* 1924 – Lou Groza, American football player (d. 2000)
* 1924 – Speedy West, American musician (d. 2003)
* 1925 – Giorgos Zampetas, Greek musician and songwriter (d. 1992)
* 1927 – Antônio Carlos Jobim, Brazilian composer (d. 1994)
* 1928 – Jérôme Choquette, Quebec lawyer and politician
* 1928 – Eduard Shevardnadze, President of Georgia (1995–2003)
* 1929 – Robert Faurisson, French academic and holocaust denier
* 1929 – Benny Golson, American jazz musician
* 1930 – Tanya Savicheva, Russian diarist (d. 1944)
* 1931 – Dean Jones, American actor
* 1933 – Corazon Aquino, 11th President of the Philippines (d. 2009)
* 1935 – Conrad Burns, American politician
* 1935 – António Ramalho Eanes, Portuguese politician
* 1936 – Diana Hyland, American actress (d. 1977)
* 1937 – Judith Ann Mayotte, American humanitarian and author
* 1937 – Ange-Félix Patassé, Central African Republican politician
* 1938 – Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese manga author (d. 1998)
* 1938 – Etta James, American singer
* 1938 – Leiji Matsumoto, Japanese anime author
* 1938 – Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian poet (d. 1980)
* 1939 – Gabriel Romanus, Swedish politician
* 1941 – Buddy Baker, American race car driver
* 1941 – Gregory Sierra, American actor
* 1942 – Carl Eller, American football player
* 1942 – Eusébio, Portuguese footballer
* 1942 – Shinobu Tsukasa, Japanese organized crime figure
* 1943 – Roy Black, German pop singer (d. 1991)
* 1943 – Tobe Hooper, American film director
* 1944 – Anita Pallenberg, Italian model
* 1945 – John Leslie, American pornographic actor and filmmaker (d. 2010)
* 1945 – Leigh Taylor-Young, American actress
* 1947 – Ángel Nieto, Spanish motorcycle racer
* 1947 – Tostão, Brazilian footballer
* 1948 – Gueorgui Chichkine, Russian painter
* 1948 – Ros Kelly, Australian politician
* 1949 – John Cooper Clarke, English punk-poet
* 1949 – Paul Nurse, English biochemist, Nobel Laureate
* 1950 – Gloria Naylor, African American novelist
* 1950 – John Terry, American actor
* 1951 – Steve Prefontaine, American runner (d. 1975)
* 1952 – Sara Mandiano, French singer and songwriter
* 1952 – Peter Tatchell, Australian-born British LGBT activist
* 1952 – Timothy White, American journalist (d. 2002)
* 1953 – The Honky Tonk Man, American professional wrestler
* 1953 – Mark Weil, Uzbek theatre director (d. 2007)
* 1954 – Ricardo Bochini, Argentinian footballer
* 1954 – Kay Cottee, Australian maritime sailor
* 1954 – Richard Finch, American bass player (KC and the Sunshine Band)
* 1954 – Kim Gandy, American feminist activist
* 1955 – Terry Chimes, English musician (The Clash)
* 1956 – Andy Cox, English musician (The Beat, Fine Young Cannibals)
* 1957 – Eskil Erlandsson, Swedish politician
* 1957 – Andrew P. Harris, American politician
* 1957 – Jenifer Lewis, American actress
* 1958 – Dinah Manoff, American actress
* 1961 – Vivian Balakrishnan, Singaporean politician
* 1961 – Willie Revillame, Filipino game show host and comedian
* 1962 – Chris Chelios, American ice hockey player
* 1965 – Mark Jordon, English actor
* 1965 – Esa Tikkanen, Finnish ice hockey player
* 1966 – Chet Culver, American politician
* 1967 – Mark Bamford, American writer/director
* 1967 – Randy McKay, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1969 – Kina, American singer
* 1970 – Stephen Chbosky, American writer
* 1970 – Chris Mills, American basketball player
* 1970 – Milt Stegall, American-born Canadian Football League player
* 1971 – Luca Badoer, Italian race car driver
* 1971 – China Kantner, American actress
* 1971 – Ana Ortiz, American actress and singer
* 1973 – Chris Guy, American professional wrestler
* 1973 – Geoff Johns, American comic book writer
* 1974 – Robert Budreau, Canadian film director
* 1974 – Attilio Nicodemo, Italian footballer
* 1975 – Mia Kirshner, Canadian actress
* 1975 – Tim Montgomery, American athlete
* 1975 – Dat Phan, Vietnamese stand-up comedian
* 1976 – Mario Haberfeld, Brazilian racing car driver
* 1978 – Denis Menchov, Russian cyclist
* 1978 – Jason Roberts, English footballer
* 1978 – Derrick Turnbow, American baseball player
* 1979 – Pi Hongyan, French badminton player
* 1979 – Gabe Jennings, American distance runner
* 1979 – Christine Lakin, American actress
* 1979 – Rodrigo Ribeiro, Brazilian racing driver
* 1979 – Zoe Britton, American Pornographic Actress
* 1980 – Michelle McCool, American professional wrestler
* 1980 – Efstathios Tavlaridis, Greek footballer
* 1980 – Xavi, Catalan Spanish footballer
* 1981 – Charlie Bewley, English actor
* 1981 – Francis Jeffers, English footballer
* 1981 – Alicia Keys, American singer
* 1981 – Toše Proeski, Macedonian singer (d. 2007)
* 1982 – Sho Sakurai, Japanese singer and actor
* 1982 – Shawna Waldron, American actress
* 1983 – Andrée Watters, Canadian singer
* 1984 – Robinho, Brazilian footballer
* 1985 – Brent Celek, American football player
* 1985 – James Ball, Musician
* 1985 – Tina Karol, Ukrainian singer
* 1985 – Acie Law IV, American basketball player
* 1985 – Patrick Willis, American football player
* 1986 – Chris O'Grady, English footballer
* 1986 – Shahriar Nafees, Bangladeshi cricketer
* 1987 – Maria Kirilenko, Russian tennis player
* 1988 – Tatiana Golovin, French tennis player
* 1989 – Sheryfa Luna, French singer
* 1989 – Víctor Ruiz Torre, Spanish footballer
* 1989 – Mikako Tabe, Japanese stage and film actress

January 25 Events

2012-01-25T00:30:00.000-08:00

* 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate.
* 1348 – A strong earthquake strikes the South Alpine region of Friuli in modern Italy, causing considerable damage to buildings as far away as Rome.
* 1494 – Alfonso II becomes King of Naples.
* 1533 – Henry VIII of England secretly marries his second wife Anne Boleyn.
* 1554 – Founding of São Paulo city, Brazil.
* 1573 – Battle of Mikatagahara, in Japan; Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugawa Ieyasu.
* 1575 – Luanda, the capital of Angola is founded by the Portuguese navigator Paulo Dias de Novais.
* 1755 – Moscow University is established on Tatiana Day.
* 1787 – American Daniel Shays leads a rebellion to seize Federal arsenal to protest debtor's prisons.
* 1791 – The British Parliament passes the Constitutional Act of 1791 and splits the old Province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada.
* 1792 – The London Corresponding Society is founded.
* 1858 – The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn becomes a popular wedding recessional after it is played on this day at the marriage of Queen Victoria's daughter, Victoria, and Friedrich of Prussia.
* 1879 – The Bulgarian National Bank is founded.
* 1881 – Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company.
* 1890 – Nellie Bly completes her round-the-world journey in 72 days.
* 1909 – Richard Strauss' opera Elektra receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera.
* 1915 – Alexander Graham Bell inaugurates U.S. transcontinental telephone service, speaking from New York to Thomas Watson in San Francisco.
* 1918 – Ukraine declares independence from Bolshevik Russia.
* 1919 – The League of Nations is founded.
* 1924 – The 1924 Winter Olympics opens in Chamonix, France (in the French Alps), inaugurating the Winter Olympic Games.
* 1932 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese National Revolutionary Army begins its defense of Harbin.
* 1937 – The Guiding Light debuts on NBC radio from Chicago. In 1952 it moves to CBS television, where it remains until Sept. 18, 2009.
* 1941 – Pope Pius XII elevates the Apostolic Vicariate of the Hawaiian Islands to the dignity of a diocese. It becomes the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.
* 1942 – World War II: Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom.
* 1945 – World War II: The Battle of the Bulge ends.
* 1946 – The United Mine Workers rejoins the American Federation of Labor.
* 1949 – At the Hollywood Athletic Club the first Emmy Awards are presented.
* 1955 – The Soviet Union ends state of war with Germany.
* 1960 – The National Association of Broadcasters reacts to the Payola scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accept money for playing particular records.
* 1961 – In Washington, D.C. John F. Kennedy delivers the first live presidential television news conference.
* 1969 – Brazilian Army captain Carlos Lamarca deserts in order to fight against the military dictatorship, taking with him 10 machine guns and 63 rifles.
* 1971 – Charles Manson and three female "Family" members are found guilty of the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders.
* 1971 – Idi Amin leads a coup deposing Milton Obote and becomes Uganda's president.
* 1971 – Himachal Pradesh becomes the 18th Indian state.
* 1981 – Jiang Qing, the widow of Mao Zedong, is sentenced to death.
* 1986 – The National Resistance Movement topples the government of Tito Okello in Uganda.
* 1990 – The Burns' Day storm hits northwestern Europe.
* 1993 – Five people are shot outside the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia resulting in two murders.
* 1994 – The Clementine space probe launches.
* 1995 – The Norwegian Rocket Incident: Russia almost launches a nuclear attack after it mistakes Black Brant XII, a Norwegian research rocket, for a US Trident missile.
* 1996 – Billy Bailey became the last person to be hanged in the United States of America.
* 1998 – During a historic visit to Cuba, Pope John Paul II demands the release of political prisoners and political reforms while condemning US attempts to isolate the country.
* 1998 – A suicide attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on Sri Lanka's Temple of the Tooth kills 8 people and injures 25 others.
* 1999 – A 6.0 Richter scale earthquake hits western Colombia killing at least 1,000.
* 2001 – A 50-year-old Douglas DC-3 crashes near Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela killing 24.
* 2003 – 2003 Invasion of Iraq: A group of people left London, England, for Baghdad, Iraq, to serve as human shields to prevent the U.S.-led coalition troops from bombing certain locations.
* 2004 – Opportunity rover (MER-B) lands on surface of Mars.
* 2005 – A stampede at the Mandher Devi temple in Mandhradevi in India kills at least 258.
* 2006 – Three independent observing campaigns announce the discovery of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb through gravitational microlensing, the first cool rocky/icy extrasolar planet around a main-sequence star.
* 2006 – Mexican professional wrestler Juana Barraza is arrested in conjunction with the serial killing of at least 10 elderly women.
* 2010 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after take-off from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, killing all 90 people on-board.
* 2011 – Egyptian Revolution of 2011 begins in Egypt, with a series of street demonstrations, marches, rallies, acts of civil disobedience, riots, labour strikes, and violent clashes in Cairo, Alexandria, and throughout other cities in Egypt.

January 24 Events

2012-01-24T11:04:00.000-08:00

* 41 – Roman Emperor Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel despotism, is assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards. The Guard then proclaims Caligula's uncle Claudius as Emperor
* 1438 – The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV as Prelate of Ethiopia, arrives at Massawa from Goa.
* 1679 – King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament.
* 1742 – Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
* 1817 – Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of Juan Gregorio de las Heras were captured during the Action of Picheuta.
* 1848 – California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento.
* 1857 – The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first fully-fledged university in south Asia.
* 1859 – Political union of Moldavia and Wallachia; Alexandru Ioan Cuza is elected as ruler.
* 1862 – Bucharest is proclaimed capital of Romania.
* 1878 – The revolutionary Vera Zasulich shoots at Fyodor Trepov, the Governor of Saint Petersburg.
* 1916 – In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad, the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.
* 1918 – The Gregorian calendar is introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People's Commissars effective February 14(NS)
* 1939 – The deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes Chillán.
* 1942 – World War II: The Allies bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand to declare war against the United States and United Kingdom.
* 1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.
* 1947 – Greek banker Dimitrios Maximos becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
* 1960 – Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as the "barricades week", during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.
* 1961 – 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 – An Air India Boeing 707 jet crashes on Mont Blanc, on the border between France and Italy, killing 117.
* 1972 – Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.
* 1977 – Massacre of Atocha in Madrid, during the Spanish transition to democracy.
* 1978 – Soviet satellite Cosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor onboard, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered.
* 1984 – The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale.
* 1986 – Voyager 2 passes within 81,500 kilometres (50,600 mi) of Uranus.
* 1990 – Japan launches Hiten, the country's first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States.
* 1993 – Turkish journalist and writer Uğur Mumcu is assassinated by a car bomb in Ankara.
* 1996 – Polish Premier Józef Oleksy resigns amid charges that he spied for Moscow.
* 2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
* 2009 – The storm Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France. It subsequently would cause 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies.
* 2011 – At least 35 died and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo airport.

January 24 Birthdays

2012-01-24T01:00:00.000-08:00

* 3 BC – Galba, Roman Emperor (d. 69)
* 76 – Hadrian, Roman Emperor (d. 138)
* 1287 – Richard Aungerville, English bishop (d. 1345)
* 1444 – Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1476)
* 1540 – Edmund Campion, English Jesuit (d. 1581)
* 1638 – Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet (d. 1706)
* 1670 – William Congreve, English playwright (d. 1729)
* 1674 – Thomas Tanner, English bishop (d. 1735)
* 1679 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher (d. 1754)
* 1705 – Farinelli, Italian castrato (d. 1782)
* 1712 – King Frederick II of Prussia (d. 1786)
* 1724 – Frances Brooke, English writer (d. 1789)
* 1732 – Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, French playwright (d. 1799)
* 1742 – Anne, Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn (d. 1808)
* 1746 – King Gustav III of Sweden (d. 1792)
* 1752 – Muzio Clementi, Italian composer (d. 1832)
* 1754 – Andrew Ellicott, American surveyor (d. 1820)
* 1763 – Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron, Russian general (d. 1831)
* 1776 – E.T.A. Hoffmann, German writer (d. 1822)
* 1779 – Tsarina Elizabeth Alexeievna (d. 1826)
* 1848 – Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (d. 1916)
* 1862 – Edith Wharton, American writer (d. 1937)
* 1864 – Marguerite Durand, French suffragette (d. 1936)
* 1872 – Konstantin Bogaevsky, Russian painter (d. 1943)
* 1872 – Ethel Turner, Australian author (d. 1958)
* 1886 – Henry King, American film director (d. 1982)
* 1888 – Vicki Baum, Austrian writer (d. 1960)
* 1888 – Ernst Heinkel, German aircraft designer (d. 1958)
* 1891 – Walter Model, German field marshal (d. 1945)
* 1895 – Eugen Roth, German writer (d. 1976)
* 1898 – Cliff Heathcote, American baseball player (d. 1939)
* 1900 – Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ukrainian-born American geneticist and biologist (d. 1975)
* 1901 – Harry Calder, South African cricketer (d. 1995)
* 1901 – Edward Turner, English motorcycle designer (d. 1973)
* 1902 – E. A. Speiser, American biblical scholar (d. 1965)
* 1905 – J. Howard Marshall, American billionaire (d. 1995)
* 1907 – Maurice Couve de Murville, French politician (d. 1999)
* 1909 – Martin Lings, English Islamic scholar (d. 2005)
* 1909 – Ann Todd, English actress (d. 1993)
* 1910 – Doris Haddock, American political activist (d. 2010)
* 1911 – Muir Mathieson, Scottish conductor and composer (d. 1975)
* 1913 – Norman Dello Joio, American composer (d. 2008)
* 1915 – Robert Motherwell, American painter (d. 1991)
* 1916 – Jack Brickhouse, American sports broadcaster (d. 1998)
* 1916 – Rafael Caldera, President of Venezuela (d. 2009)
* 1916 – Arnoldo Foà, Italian actor
* 1917 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor
* 1918 – Oral Roberts, American evangelist (d. 2009)
* 1919 – Coleman Francis, American film director (d. 1973)
* 1920 – Jerry Maren, American actor
* 1922 – Charles Socarides, American psychiatrist (d. 2005)
* 1923 – Vlado Kristl, Croatian painter and filmmaker (d. 2004)
* 1925 – Maria Tallchief, American ballerina
* 1926 – Georges Lautner, French director and screenwriter
* 1927 – Sir Patrick Macnaghten, 11th Baronet, British aristocrat (d. 2007)
* 1928 – Desmond Morris, British anthropologist
* 1928 – Michel Serrault, French actor (d. 2007)
* 1930 – Bernard Matthews, British poultry industry figure (d. 2010)
* 1934 – Stanisław Grochowiak, Polish poet (d. 1976)
* 1935 – Eric Ashton, English rugby league footballer (d. 2008)
* 1936 – William Bogert, American actor
* 1936 – Doug Kershaw, American musician
* 1936 – Bobby Wellins, Scottish jazz saxophonist
* 1939 – Ray Stevens, American musician
* 1941 – Neil Diamond, American singer
* 1941 – Aaron Neville, American singer
* 1942 – Gary Hart, American professional wrestling figure (d. 2008)
* 1943 – Subhash Ghai, Indian film director
* 1943 – Peter Struck, German politician
* 1943 – Sharon Tate, American actress and Manson murder victim (d. 1969)
* 1944 – Klaus Nomi, German singer (d. 1983)
* 1945 – D. Todd Christofferson, American religious figure
* 1945 – John Garamendi, American politician
* 1946 – Michael Ontkean, Canadian actor
* 1946 – Haji, Canadian actress
* 1947 – Michio Kaku, Japanese-born American theoretical physicist
* 1947 – Masashi Ozaki, Japanese golfer
* 1947 – Warren Zevon, American musician (d. 2003)
* 1948 – Michael Des Barres, British actor and rock singer
* 1949 – John Belushi, American actor (d. 1982)
* 1950 – Daniel Auteuil, French actor
* 1950 – Gennifer Flowers, American actress, political figure
* 1950 – Benjamin Urrutia, Ecuadorian-born American writer
* 1951 – Yakov Smirnoff, Ukrainian-born American comedian
* 1953 – Tim Stoddard, American baseball player
* 1954 – Jo Gartner, Austrian racing driver (d. 1986)
* 1955 – Jim Montgomery, American swimmer
* 1956 – Hanne Krogh, Norwegian singer (Bobbysocks)
* 1956 – Lounès Matoub, Algerian Berber Kabyle singer (d. 1998)
* 1957 – Mark Eaton, American basketball player
* 1957 – Adrian Edmondson, English comedian
* 1958 – Neil Allen, American baseball player
* 1958 – Jools Holland, English musician
* 1959 – David Mills, American author
* 1959 – Vic Reeves, English comedian
* 1960 – Rick Leventhal, American journalist
* 1960 – Jack Neo, Singaporean filmmaker & actor
* 1961 – Guido Buchwald, German football player
* 1961 – Nastassja Kinski, German-born actress
* 1961 – Vince Russo, American writer
* 1961 – William Van Dijck, Belgian athlete
* 1962 – Argiris Kambouris, Greek basketball player
* 1963 – Martyn Grimley, English field hockey player
* 1963 – Arnold Vanderlyde, Dutch boxer
* 1965 – Mike Awesome, American professional wrestler (d. 2007)
* 1965 – Carlos Saldanha, Brazilian film director
* 1966 – Jimeoin, Northern Irish comedian
* 1967 – Mark Kozelek, American singer/songwriter (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon)
* 1967 – Phil LaMarr, American actor,comedian,and voice actor
* 1967 – John Myung, American musician (Dream Theater)
* 1968 – Michael Kiske, German musician
* 1968 – Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
* 1969 – Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Icelandic actor
* 1970 – Matthew Lillard, American actor
* 1971 – Cory Bailey, American baseball player
* 1971 – Andrea Mackris, American television producer
* 1972 – Naoshi Mizuta, Japanese composer
* 1972 – Daan Schuurmans, Dutch actor
* 1972 – Ulla Werbrouck, Belgian judoka and politician
* 1974 – Adam Dean, American philosopher
* 1974 – Ed Helms, American actor
* 1975 – Isobel Cooper, English singer
* 1975 – Rónald Gómez, Costa Rican footballer
* 1976 – Shae-Lynn Bourne, Canadian ice dancer
* 1976 – Cindy Pieters, Belgian cyclist
* 1977 – Kensuke Kita, Japanese guitarist (Asian Kung-Fu Generation)
* 1979 – Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer
* 1979 – Leandro Desábato, Argentine footballer
* 1979 – Tom Kostopoulos, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1980 – Rocky Boiman, American football player
* 1980 – Nicole Marie Lenz, American actress
* 1981 – Travis Hanson, American baseball player
* 1981 – Michael Wolf, German ice hockey player
* 1982 – Fiona Xie, Singaporean actress
* 1983 – Diane Birch, American singer/songwriter/pianist
* 1983 – Wyatt Crockett, New Zealand rugby player
* 1983 – Shaun Maloney, Scottish footballer
* 1983 – Scott Speed, American race car driver
* 1984 – Scott Kazmir, American baseball player
* 1984 – Witold Kiełtyka, Polish drummer (Decapitated) (d. 2007)
* 1984 – Paulo Sérgio, Portuguese footballer
* 1986 – Vieirinha, Portuguese footballer, currently plays for Wolfsburg
* 1986 – Mischa Barton, English-born American actress
* 1986 – Raviv Ullman, Israeli-born American actor
* 1987 – Luis Suárez, Uruguayan footballer
* 1988 – Jade Ewen, English singer
* 1989 – Calvin Goldspink, English singer/actor (S Club 8, S Club Juniors, I Dream)
* 1990 – Mao Abe, Japanese singer-songwriter
* 1995 – Callan McAuliffe, Australian actor
* 1997 – Dylan Riley Snyder, American film, television and theatre actor

January 23 Events

2012-01-23T01:00:00.000-08:00

* 3102 BCE – Epoch (origin) of the Kali Yuga.
* 393 – Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight year old son Honorius co-emperor.
* 971 – In China, the war elephant corps of the Southern Han are soundly defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song Dynasty troops.
* 1368 – In a coronation ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang ascends to the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming Dynasty rule over China that would last for three centuries.
* 1510 – Henry VIII of England, then 18 years old, appears incognito in the lists at Richmond, and is applauded for his jousting before he reveals his identity.
* 1533 – Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII of England, discovers herself pregnant.
* 1546 – Having published nothing for eleven years, François Rabelais publishes the Tiers Livre, his sequel to Gargantua and Pantagruel.
* 1556 – The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000.
* 1570 – James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, regent for the infant King James VI of Scotland, is assassinated by firearm, the first recorded instance of such.
* 1571 – The Royal Exchange opens in London.
* 1579 – The Union of Utrecht forms a Protestant republic in the Netherlands.
* 1656 – Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales.
* 1719 – The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire.
* 1789 – Georgetown College, the first Catholic University in the United States, is founded in Georgetown, Maryland (now a part of Washington, D.C.)
* 1793 – Second Partition of Poland: Russia and Prussia partition Poland for the second time.
* 1849 – Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States' first female doctor.
* 1855 – The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, a crossing made today by the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge.
* 1870 – In Montana, U.S. cavalrymen kill 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in the Marias Massacre.
* 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: the Battle of Rorke's Drift ends.
* 1897 – Elva Zona Heaster is found dead in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. The resulting murder trial of her husband is perhaps the only case in United States history where the alleged testimony of a ghost helped secure a conviction.
* 1899 – Emilio Aguinaldo is sworn in as President of the First Philippine Republic.
* 1900 – The Battle of Spion Kop between the forces of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State and British forces during the Second Boer War resulted in a British defeat.
* 1904 – Ålesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style.
* 1907 – Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first Native American U.S. Senator.
* 1912 – The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague.
* 1920 – The Netherlands refuses to surrender ex-Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to the Allies.
* 1937 – In Moscow, 17 leading Communists go on trial accused of participating in a plot led by Leon Trotsky to overthrow Joseph Stalin's regime and assassinate its leaders.
* 1941 – Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
* 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Rabaul begins, the first fighting of the New Guinea campaign.
* 1943 – World War II: Troops of Montgomery's 8th Army capture Tripoli in Libya from the German-Italian Panzer Army.
* 1943 – World War II: Australian and American forces finally defeat the Japanese army in Papua. This turning point in the Pacific War marks the beginning of the end of Japanese aggression.
* 1943 – Duke Ellington plays at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the first time.
* 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal campaign ends.
* 1945 – World War II: Karl Dönitz launches Operation Hannibal.
* 1950 – The Knesset passes a resolution that states Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
* 1958 – Overthrow in Venezuela of Marcos Pérez Jiménez
* 1960 – The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 m (35,798 feet) in the Pacific Ocean.
* 1961 – The Portuguese luxury cruise ship Santa Maria is hijacked by foes of the Estado Novo regime with the intention of waging war until dictator António de Oliveira Salazar was overthrown.
* 1963 – Guinea-Bissau War of Independence officially begins when PAIGC guerrilla fighters attacked the Portuguese army stationed in Tite.
* 1964 – The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified.
* 1967 – Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Ivory Coast are established.
* 1968 – North Korea seizes the USS Pueblo (AGER-2), claiming the ship had violated their territorial waters while spying.
* 1973 – President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.
* 1973 – A volcanic eruption devastates Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar chain of islands off the south coast of Iceland.
* 1986 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
* 1997 – Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State.
* 1997 – Antonis Daglis, a 23-year-old Greek truck driver is sentenced to thirteen consecutive life sentences, plus 25 years for the serial slayings of three women and the attempted murder of six others.
* 2002 – "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh returns to the United States in FBI custody.
* 2002 – Reporter Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan and subsequently murdered .
* 2003 – Final communication between Earth and Pioneer 10.
* 2009 – Dendermonde nursery attack in Dendermonde, Belgium.

January 23 Birthdays

2012-01-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

# 1350 – Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (d. 1419)
# 1688 – Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden (d. 1741)
# 1719 – John Landen, English mathematician (d. 1790)
# 1737 – John Hancock, American patriot (d. 1793)
# 1745 – William Jessop, English canal engineer (d. 1814)
# 1783 – Stendhal, French writer (d. 1842)
# 1786 – Auguste de Montferrand, French architect (d. 1858)
# 1809 – Veer Surendra Sai, Indian Freedom Fighter (d. 1884)
# 1813 – Camilla Collett, Norwegian writer and feminist (d. 1895)
# 1828 – Saigō Takamori, Samurai, leader of Satsuma rebellion (d. 1877)
# 1832 – Édouard Manet, French artist (d. 1883)
# 1840 – Ernst Abbe, German physicist (d. 1905)
# 1855 – John Moses Browning, American inventor (d. 1926)
# 1857 – Andrija Mohorovičić, Croatian seismologist (d. 1936)
# 1862 – David Hilbert, German mathematician (d. 1943)
# 1872 – Paul Langevin, French physicist (d. 1946)
# 1872 – Joze Plečnik, Slovenian architect (d. 1957)
# 1876 – Otto Diels, German chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1954)
# 1881 – Luisa Casati, Artist's patroness, muse and fashion icon (d. 1957)
# 1884 – George McManus American cartoonist (d. 1954)
# 1884 – Ralph DePalma, Italian-American race car driver (d. 1956)
# 1896 – Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (d. 1985)
# 1896 – Alf Hall, South African cricketer (d. 1964)
# 1897 – Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian independence fighter (d. 1945)
# 1897 – Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (d. 2000)
# 1897 – Sir William Samuel Stephenson, Canadian soldier, W.W.II codename, Intrepid. Inspiration for James Bond. (d. 1989)
# 1898 – Sergei Eisenstein, Russian film director (d. 1948)
# 1898 – Randolph Scott, American actor (d. 1987)
# 1898 – Freda Utley, British scholar and author (d. 1978)
# 1899 – Glen Kidston, British aviator and racing driver (d. 1931)
# 1900 – William Ifor Jones, Welsh conductor and organist (d. 1988)
# 1903 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian politician (d. 1948)
# 1907 – Dan Duryea, American actor (d. 1968)
# 1907 – Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1981)
# 1910 – Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist (d. 1953)
# 1912 – Boris Pokrovsky, Russian operatic stage director (d. 2009)
# 1913 – Jean-Michel Atlan, French painter (d. 1960)
# 1913 – Wally Parks, American racing executive, founder of the NHRA (d. 2007)
# 1915 – Arthur Lewis, British economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1991)
# 1915 – Potter Stewart, American Supreme Court Justice (d. 1985)
# 1916 – David Douglas Duncan, American photo-journalist
# 1916 – Airey Neave, British Major, politician and indictment server at the Nuremberg Trials (d. 1979)
# 1918 – Gertrude B. Elion, American scientist, Nobel laureate (d. 1999)
# 1919 – Frances Bay, Canadian actress (d. 2011)
# 1919 – Hans Hass, Austrian zoologist and underwater scientist
# 1919 – Ernie Kovacs, American comedian (d. 1962)
# 1919 – Bob Paisley, English football player and manager. (d. 1996)
# 1920 – Walter Frederick Morrison, American inventor (d. 2010)
# 1923 – Cot Deal, American baseball player and coach
# 1923 – Walter M. Miller, Jr., American writer (d. 1996)
# 1924 – Frank Lautenberg, American politician
# 1924 – Bal Thackeray, founder and president of Indian political party Shiv Sena
# 1927 – Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-American entrepreneur and explorer (d. 1994)
# 1927 – Jack Quinlan, Chicago Cubs Broadcaster (d. 1965)
# 1928 – Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 2005)
# 1928 – Jeanne Moreau, French actress
# 1929 – Patriarch Filaret (Mykhailo Denysenko) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Kiev Patriarch
# 1929 – John Charles Polanyi, Canadian chemist, Nobel laureate
# 1929 – Myron Cope, American sports announcer
# 1930 – Derek Walcott, West Indian writer, Nobel laureate
# 1930 – Teresa Żylis-Gara, Polish singer
# 1933 – Chita Rivera, Puerto Rican actress and dancer
# 1934 – Pierre Bourgault, Quebec politician and essayist (d. 2003)
# 1935 – Bob Moses, American civil rights activist
# 1936 – Jerry Kramer, American football player
# 1938 – Shohei Baba, Japanese professional wrestler (d. 1999)
# 1938 – Georg Baselitz, German painter and sculptor
# 1939 – Sonny Chiba, Japanese actor and martial artist
# 1939 – Arlene Golonka, American actress
# 1940 – Joe Dowell, American singer
# 1940 – Johnny Russell, American country singer and songwriter (d. 2001)
# 1942 – Razzak, Bangladeshi actor and director
# 1943 – Gary Burton, American jazz vibraphonist
# 1943 – Gil Gerard, American actor
# 1944 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor
# 1945 – Mike Harris, Canadian politician, Premier of Ontario
# 1946 – Arnoldo Alemán, ex-president of Nicaragua
# 1946 – Don Whittington, American businessman, car & airplane racer and convicted felon
# 1947 – Thomas R. Carper, American politician, senior senator of Delaware
# 1947 – Megawati Sukarnoputri, 5th President of Indonesia
# 1948 – Anita Pointer, American singer (Pointer Sisters)
# 1950 – Richard Dean Anderson, American actor
# 1950 – Danny Federici, American musician (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band) (d. 2008)
# 1950 – John Greaves, English musician (Henry Cow, National Health)
# 1951 – Chesley Sullenberger, Captain of US Airways Flight 1549, a flight that successfully ditched into the Hudson River
# 1952 – Omar Henry, South African cricketer
# 1953 – John Luther Adams, American composer
# 1953 – Alister E. McGrath, British theologian and scientist
# 1953 – Antonio Villaraigosa, Hispanic-American 52nd Mayor of Los Angeles
# 1953 – Robin Zander, American singer (Cheap Trick)
# 1954 – Franco De Vita, Venezuelan singer and songwriter
# 1954 – Edward Ka-Spel, English musician (Legendary Pink Dots)
# 1957 – Princess Caroline of Monaco
# 1957 – Lou Schuler, American fitness journalist
# 1959 – Clive Bull, English radio talk show host
# 1960 – Patrick de Gayardon, French skydiver and skysurfing pioneer (d. 1998)
# 1960 – Jean-François Sauvé, Canadian ice hockey player
# 1961 – Mas Selamat bin Kastari, Singapore's most-wanted terror fugitive
# 1962 – Elvira Lindo, Spanish writer and journalist
# 1962 – Vasia Panayopoulou, Greek actress
# 1963 – Gail O'Grady, American actress
# 1964 – Mariska Hargitay, American actress
# 1964 – Bharrat Jagdeo, President of Guyana
# 1964 – Mario Roberge, Canadian ice hockey player
# 1965 – Louie Clemente, American drummer (Testament)
# 1966 – Haywoode Workman, American basketball player
# 1967 – Naim Süleymanoğlu, Bulgaria-born Turkish weightlifter
# 1968 – Petr Korda, Czech tennis player
# 1969 – Ariadna Gil, Spanish actress
# 1969 – Andrei Kanchelskis, Ukrainian-Russian footballer
# 1969 – Brendan Shanahan, Canadian ice hockey player
# 1970 – Tracey Cherelle Jones, American actress
# 1970 – Brendan O'Connor, Irish journalist, satirist
# 1970 – Spyridon Vasdekis, Greek long jumper
# 1971 – Scott Gibbs, Welsh rugby player
# 1971 – Kevin Mawae, American football player
# 1971 – Marc Nelson, American R&B singer and lyricist
# 1971 – Adam Parore, New Zealand wicketkeeper (cricket)
# 1972 – Ewen Bremner, Scottish actor
# 1972 – Lisa Snowdon, British model and TV presenter
# 1972 – Marcel Wouda, Dutch swimmer
# 1973 – Lanei Chapman, American actress
# 1973 – Tomas Holmström, Swedish ice hockey player
# 1974 – Sampsa Astala, Finnish musician (Lordi)
# 1974 – Joel Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player
# 1974 – Rebekah Elmaloglou, Australian actress
# 1974 – Yosvani Pérez, Cuban baseball player
# 1974 – Richard T. Slone, British artist
# 1974 – Tiffani Thiessen, American actress
# 1975 – Phil Dawson, American football player
# 1975 – Tito Ortiz, American UFC fighter
# 1976 – Brandon Duckworth, American baseball player
# 1976 – Angelica Lee, Taiwanese actress and singer
# 1976 – Tony Lucca, actor, singer and musician
# 1976 – Nigel McGuinness, English professional wrestler
# 1977 – Kamal Heer, Punjabi singer and musician
# 1979 – Larry Hughes, American basketball player
# 1979 – Dawn Porter, British television presnter
# 1979 – Juan Rincón, Venezuelan baseball player
# 1981 – Rob Friend, Canadian footballer
# 1981 – Julia Jones, Native American actress
# 1982 – Patrick Levis, American actor
# 1982 – Wily Mo Peña, Dominican baseball player
# 1984 – Arjen Robben, Dutch footballer
# 1985 – Dong Fangzhuo, Chinese footballer
# 1985 – Doutzen Kroes, Dutch supermodel
# 1986 – Anne Foy, British children's television presenter
# 1986 – Benjamin Griesert, German footballer
# 1986 – José Enrique Sánchez, Spanish footballer
# 1986 – Steven Taylor, English footballer
# 1987 – Felicia Brandström, Swedish singer
# 1988 – Alan Power, Irish footballer
# 1989 – April Pearson, British actress

January 22 Events

2012-01-22T10:31:00.000-08:00

* 565 – Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus.
* 1506 – The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrives at the Vatican.
* 1521 – Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, opens the Diet of Worms.
* 1689 – The Convention Parliament convenes to determine if James II, the last Roman Catholic king of England, had vacated the throne when he fled to France in 1688.
* 1771 – Spain cedes Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands to the United Kingdom.
* 1824 – The Ashantis defeat British forces in the Gold Coast.
* 1849 – Second Anglo-Sikh War: The Siege of Multan ends after nine months when the last Sikh defenders of Multan, Punjab, surrender.
* 1863 – The January Uprising breaks out in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. The aim of the national movement is to regain Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth from occupation by Russia.
* 1877 – Arthur Tooth, an Anglican clergyman is taken into custody after being prosecuted for using ritualist practices.
* 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Isandlwana – Zulu troops defeat British troops.
* 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Rorke's Drift – 139 British soldiers successfully defend their garrison against an intense assault by four to five thousand Zulu warriors.
* 1889 – Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, D.C.
* 1890 – The United Mine Workers of America is founded in Columbus, Ohio.
* 1899 – Leaders of six Australian colonies meet in Melbourne to discuss confederation.
* 1901 – Edward VII is proclaimed King after the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.
* 1905 – Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg, beginning of the 1905 revolution.
* 1906 – SS Valencia runs aground on rocks on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, killing more than 130.
* 1915 – Over 600 people are killed in Guadalajara, Mexico, when a train plunges off the tracks into a deep canyon.
* 1917 – World War I: President Woodrow Wilson of the still-neutral United States calls for "peace without victory" in Europe.
* 1919 – Act Zluky is signed, unifying the Ukrainian People's Republic and the West Ukrainian National Republic.
* 1924 – Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
* 1927 – First live radio commentary of a football match anywhere in the world, between Arsenal F.C. and Sheffield United at Highbury.
* 1941 – World War II: British and Commonwealth troops capture Tobruk from Italian forces during Operation Compass.
* 1944 – World War II: The Allies commence Operation Shingle, an assault on Anzio, Italy.
* 1946 – Iran: Qazi Muhammad declares the independent people's Republic of Mahabad at Chuwarchira Square in the Kurdish city of Mahabad. He is the new president; Hadschi Baba Scheich is the prime minister.
* 1946 – Creation of the Central Intelligence Group, forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency.
* 1947 – KTLA, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, begins operation in Hollywood, California.
* 1957 – Israel withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula.
* 1957 – The New York City "Mad Bomber", George P. Metesky, is arrested in Waterbury, Connecticut and is charged with planting more than 30 bombs.
* 1959 – Knox Mine Disaster: Water breaches the River Slope Mine near Pittston City, Pennsylvania in Port Griffith; 12 miners are killed.
* 1962 – The Organization of American States suspends Cuba's membership.
* 1963 – The Elysée treaty of cooperation between France and Germany is signed by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer.
* 1968 – Apollo 5 lifts off carrying the first Lunar module into space.
* 1968 – Operation Igloo White, a US electronic surveillance system to stop communist infiltration into South Vietnam begins installation.
* 1969 – A gunman attempts to assassinate Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.
* 1970 – The Boeing 747, the world's first "jumbo jet", enters commercial service for launch customer Pan American Airways with its maiden voyage from John F Kennedy International Airport to London Heathrow Airport.
* 1971 – The Singapore Declaration, one of the two most important documents to the uncodified constitution of the Commonwealth of Nations, is issued.
* 1973 – The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its decision in Roe v. Wade, legalizing elective abortion in all fifty states.
* 1973 – A chartered Boeing 707 explodes in flames upon landing at Kano Airport, Nigeria, killing 176.
* 1984 – The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, is introduced during Super Bowl XVIII with its famous "1984" television commercial.
* 1987 – Pennsylvania politician R. Budd Dwyer shoots and kills himself during a televised press conference, leading to debates on boundaries in journalism.
* 1987 – Philippine security forces open fire on a crowd of 10,000–15,000 demonstrators at Malacañang Palace, Manila, killing 13.
* 1990 – Robert Tappan Morris, Jr. is convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet Computer worm.
* 1991 – Gulf War: Three SCUDs and one Patriot missile hit Ramat Gan in Israel, injuring 96 people. Three elderly people die of heart attacks.
* 1992 – Rebel forces occupy Zaire's national radio station in Kinshasa and broadcast a demand for the government's resignation.
* 1995 – Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Beit Lid massacre – In central Israel, near Netanya, two suicide bombers from the Gaza Strip blow themselves up at a military transit point killing 19 Israelis.
* 1999 – Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons are burned alive by radical Hindus while sleeping in their car in Eastern India.
* 2002 – Kmart becomes the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
* 2006 – Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia, becoming the country's first indigenous president.
* 2007 – At least 88 people are killed when two car bombs explode in the Bab Al-Sharqi market in central Baghdad, Iraq.

January 22 Birthdays

2012-01-22T02:00:00.000-08:00

* 1263 – Ibn Taymiya, Islamic scholar (d. 1328)
* 1440 – Ivan III of Russia (d. 1505)
* 1553 – Mori Terumoto, Japanese warrior (d. 1625)
* 1561 – Sir Francis Bacon, English philosopher (d. 1626)
* 1570 – Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, English politician (d. 1631)
* 1592 – Pierre Gassendi, French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist (d. 1655)
* 1654 – Richard Blackmore, English physician and writer (d. 1729)
* 1690 – Nicolas Lancret, French painter (d. 1743)
* 1729 – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German author and philosopher (d. 1781)
* 1733 – Philip Carteret, British Naval Officer (d. 1796)
* 1740 – Noah Phelps, American Spy (d. 1809)
* 1781 – François Antoine Habeneck, French violinist (d. 1849)
* 1788 – George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (Lord Byron), English poet (d. 1824)
* 1796 – Karl Claus, Russian chemist (d. 1864)
* 1797 – Maria Leopoldina of Austria, Empress of Brazil (d. 1826)
* 1799 – Ludger Duvernay, Canadian printer and publisher (d. 1852)
* 1820 – Joseph Wolf, German artist (d. 1899)
* 1831 – Jack Slade, American frontier figure (d. 1864)
* 1831 – Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1917)
* 1840 – Ernest Roland Wilberforce, English bishop (d. 1907)
* 1849 – August Strindberg, Swedish writer (d. 1912)
* 1858 – Beatrice Webb, English economist (d. 1943)
* 1869 – Grigori Rasputin, Russian monk (d. 1916)
* 1869 – José Vicente de Freitas, Portuguese military officer and politician (d. 1952)
* 1874 – Edward Harkness, American philanthropist (d. 1940)
* 1874 – Jay Hughes, American baseball player (d. 1924)
* 1875 – D. W. Griffith, American film director (d. 1948)
* 1876 – Warren McLaughlin, American baseball player (d. 1923)
* 1877 – Tom Jones, American baseball player (d. 1923)
* 1879 – Francis Picabia, French-born painter and poet (d. 1953)
* 1880 – Bill O'Neill, American baseball player (d. 1920)
* 1881 – Ira Thomas, American baseball player (d. 1958)
* 1882 – Theodore Kosloff, Russian-born actor, ballet dancer and choreographer (d. 1956)
* 1886 – Roman Ungern von Sternberg, Russian counter-revolutionary (d. 1921)
* 1887 – Helen Hoyt, American poet (d. 1972)
* 1889 – Henri Pélissier, French cyclist (d. 1935)
* 1889 – Amos Strunk, American baseball player (d. 1979)
* 1890 – Fred M. Vinson, 13th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1953)
* 1890 – Vinko Žganec, Croatian ethnomusicologist (d. 1976)
* 1891 – Antonio Gramsci, Italian philosopher, and political theorist (d. 1937)
* 1892 – Marcel Dassault, French industrialist (d. 1986)
* 1893 – Conrad Veidt, German actor (d. 1943)
* 1897 – Rosa Ponselle, American soprano (d. 1981)
* 1899 – Martti Haavio, Finnish poet (d. 1973)
* 1900 – Ernst Busch, German singer and actor (d. 1980)
* 1902 – Daniel Kinsey, American hurdler (d. 1970)
* 1903 – Fritz Houtermans, Polish physicist (d. 1966)
* 1903 – Robin Milford, British composer (d. 1959)
* 1904 – George Balanchine, Russian choreographer (d. 1983)
* 1904 – Arkady Gaidar, Russian children's writer (d. 1941)
* 1904 – John Milligan, American baseball player (d. 1972)
* 1906 – Joe Gladwin, English actor (d. 1987)
* 1906 – Robert E. Howard, American author (d. 1936)
* 1907 – Douglas Corrigan, American pilot (d. 1995)
* 1907 – Dixie Dean, English footballer (d. 1980)
* 1907 – Mary Dresselhuys, Dutch actress (d. 2004)
* 1908 – Lev Davidovich Landau, Soviet physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1968)
* 1908 – Prince Oana, American baseball player (d. 1976)
* 1909 – Porfirio Rubirosa, Dominican diplomat and international playboy (d. 1965)
* 1909 – Ann Sothern, American actress (d. 2001)
* 1909 – U Thant, Burmese diplomat and 3rd United Nations Secretary General (d. 1974)
* 1911 – Bruno Kreisky, Chancellor of Austria (d. 1990)
* 1913 – Henry Bauchau, Belgian novelist, poet, and psychoanalyst
* 1913 – William Conway, Northern Irish cardinal (d. 1977)
* 1913 – Carl F. H. Henry, American theologian and publisher (d. 2003)
* 1914 – Dimitris Dragatakis, Greek composer (d. 2001)
* 1915 – Heinrich Albertz, German theologian and politician (d. 1993)
* 1916 – Bill Durnan, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1972)
* 1916 – Henri Dutilleux, French composer
* 1916 – Harilal Upadhyay, Gujarati author, poet, astrologist (d. 1994)
* 1917 – Huck Geary, American baseball player (d. 1981)
* 1918 – Elmer Lach, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1919 – Diomedes Olivo, Dominican Republic baseball player (d. 1977)
* 1920 – Irving Kristol, American pundit, columnist and author (d. 2009)
* 1920 – Sir Alf Ramsey, English football manager (d. 1999)
* 1922 – Howard Moss, American poet, dramatist, and critic (d. 1987)
* 1924 – J. J. Johnson, American jazz trombonist and composer (d. 2001)
* 1925 – Johnny Bucha, American baseball player (d. 1996)
* 1925 – Bobby Young, American baseball player (d. 1985)
* 1927 – Lou Creekmur, American football player (d. 2009)
* 1928 – Yoshihiko Amino, Japanese historian (d. 2004)
* 1931 – Sam Cooke, American singer (d. 1964)
* 1932 – Berthold Grünfeld, Norwegian psychiatrist and former sexologist (d. 2007)
* 1932 – Piper Laurie, American actress
* 1934 – Bill Bixby, American actor (d. 1993)
* 1934 – Graham Kerr, British-born chef
* 1935 – Seymour Cassel, American actor
* 1936 – Ong Teng Cheong, 5th President of Singapore (d. 2002)
* 1936 – Alan J. Heeger, American chemist, Nobel laureate
* 1937 – Edén Pastora, Nicaraguan rebel leader
* 1937 – Joseph Wambaugh, American author
* 1938 – Altair, Brazilian footballer
* 1939 – Jørgen Garde, Danish admiral (d. 1996)
* 1939 – Alfredo Palacio, former President of Ecuador
* 1939 – Jeff Smith, American chef (d. 2004)
* 1939 – J.C. Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1994)
* 1940 – John Hurt, English actor
* 1940 – George Seifert, American football coach
* 1942 – Mimis Domazos, Greek footballer
* 1943 – Marília Pêra, Brazilian actress
* 1945 – Arthur Beetson, Australian rugby league footballer and coach (d. 2011)
* 1946 – Malcolm McLaren, British music manager (d. 2010)
* 1946 – Serge Savard, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1948 – Northern Calloway, American actor (d. 1990)
* 1948 – Gilbert Levine, American conductor
* 1949 – Mike Caldwell, American baseball player
* 1949 – Phil Miller, English guitarist (National Health, In Cahoots, Matching Mole)
* 1949 – Steve Perry, American singer and musician (Journey)
* 1950 – Pamela Salem, English actress
* 1951 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater (d. 1989)
* 1951 – Leon Roberts, American baseball player
* 1951 – Steve J. Spears, Australian playwright, actor, writer and singer (d. 2007)
* 1952 – Ramón Avilés, Puerto Rican baseball player
* 1952 – Teddy Gentry, American musician (Alabama)
* 1952 – Ace Vergel, Filipino actor (d. 2007)
* 1953 – Jim Jarmusch, American director
* 1953 – Myung-Whun Chung,South Korean Conductor and pianist
* 1954 – Tully Blanchard, American professional wrestler
* 1954 – Chris Lemmon, American actor
* 1954 – Peter Pilz, Austrian politician
* 1955 – Timothy R. Ferguson, American politician
* 1955 – Thomas David Jones, American astronaut
* 1956 – Steve Riley, American drummer
* 1956 – John Wesley Shipp, American actor
* 1957 – Mike Bossy, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1957 – Brian Dayett, American baseball player
* 1957 – Rene Requiestas, Filipino comedian (d. 1993)
* 1957 – Godfrey Thoma, Nauruan politician
* 1957 – Francis Wheen, English writer and journalist
* 1958 – Nikos Anastopoulos, Greek football player and manager
* 1959 – Linda Blair, American actress
* 1960 – Michael Hutchence, Australian singer (INXS) (d. 1997)
* 1961 – Quintin Dailey, American basketball player (d. 2010)
* 1961 – Daniel Johnston, American singer-songwriter and artist
* 1962 – Choi Min-sik, South Korean actor
* 1962 – Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia
* 1962 – Eric Schaeffer, American actor and director
* 1963 – Javier Ortiz, American baseball player
* 1963 – Andrei Tchmil, Ukrainian-Belgian cyclist
* 1963 – Jeff Treadway, American baseball player
* 1964 – Nigel Benn, English boxer
* 1964 – Joe Dudek, American football player
* 1964 – Wayne Kirby, American baseball player
* 1964 – Stojko Vranković, Croatian basketball player
* 1965 – Steven Adler, American drummer (Guns N' Roses)
* 1965 – DJ Jazzy Jeff, American rapper and actor
* 1965 – Diane Lane, American actress
* 1965 – Brian McCardie, Scottish actor
* 1965 – Andrew Roachford, English singer and songwriter
* 1965 – Chintara Sukapatana, Thai actress
* 1967 – Nick Gillingham, British swimmer
* 1967 – Eleanor McEvoy, Irish singer and songwriter
* 1967 – Manabu Nakanishi, Japanese professional wrestler
* 1967 – Ecaterina Szabo, Romanian gymnast
* 1968 – Heath, Japanese bass guitarist (X Japan)
* 1968 – Frank Lebœuf, French footballer
* 1968 – Mauricio Serna, Colombian footballer
* 1969 – Olivia d'Abo, English actress
* 1969 – Keith Gordon, American baseball player
* 1969 – John Linton Roberson, American cartoonist
* 1970 – Abraham Olano, Spanish cyclist
* 1970 – Alex Ross, American comic book artist
* 1971 – Stan Collymore, English footballer
* 1972 – Katie Barberi, Mexican actress
* 1972 – Gabriel Macht, American actor
* 1972 – Romi Park, Japanese seiyu (voice actress)
* 1972 – Gonzalo Rodríguez, Uruguayan racing driver (d. 1999)
* 1972 – Namrata Shirodkar, Indian actress
* 1973 – Rogerio Ceni, Brazilian footballer
* 1974 – Cameron McConville, Australian racing driver
* 1975 – Balthazar Getty, American actor
* 1975 – Felipe Giaffone, Brazilian racing driver
* 1975 – James Murray English actor
* 1975 – David Výborný, Czech ice hockey player
* 1976 – Jimmy Anderson, American baseball player
* 1976 – James Dearth, American football player
* 1977 – Mario Domm, Mexican singer-songwriter
* 1977 – Jono Gibbes, New Zealand rugby union footballer
* 1977 – Hidetoshi Nakata, Japanese footballer
* 1977 – Matthew Newton, Australian actor
* 1977 – Aaron Rakers, American baseball player
* 1977 – Luciano Andrade Rissutt, Brazilian footballer
* 1978 – Chone Figgins, American baseball player
* 1979 – Carlos Ruiz, Panamanian baseball player
* 1980 – Jake Grove, American football player
* 1980 – Christopher Masterson, American actor
* 1980 – Subhash Ram Prajapati, Nepalese writer
* 1980 – Jonathan Woodgate, English footballer
* 1981 – Willa Ford, American singer
* 1981 – Beverley Mitchell, American actress
* 1981 – Ben Moody, American guitarist (Evanescence)
* 1981 – Ibrahima Sonko, French footballer
* 1982 – Fabricio Coloccini, Argentine footballer
* 1982 – Jason Peters, American football player
* 1983 – Shaun Cody, American football player
* 1984 – Ben Eager, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1984 – Ubaldo Jiménez, Dominican baseball player
* 1984 – Raica Oliveira, Brazilian model
* 1984 – Leon Powe, American basketball player
* 1984 – Maceo Rigters, Dutch footballer
* 1985 – Orianthi Panagaris, Australian guitarist
* 1985 – Mohamed Sissoko, Malian footballer
* 1986 – Maher Magri, Tunisian footballer
* 1986 – Lee Pa-ni, South Korean model
* 1986 – Daniel Wayne Smith, American reality television personality (d. 2006)
* 1987 – Astrid Jacobsen, Norwegian cross-country skier
* 1987 – Shane Long, Irish footballer
* 1987 – Ray Rice, American football player
* 1988 – Asher Allen, American football player
* 1988 – Greg Oden, American basketball player
* 1990 – Alizé Cornet, French tennis player
* 1991 – Alex MacDowall, British racing driver
* 1993 – Rio Haryanto, Indonesian racing driver
* 1993 – Tommy Knight, English actor

January 21 Events

2012-01-21T10:30:00.000-08:00

* 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in the home of Manz's mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union.
* 1643 – Abel Tasman becomes the first European to reach Tonga.
* 1720 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm.
* 1749 – The Verona Philharmonic Theatre is destroyed by fire. It is rebuilt in 1754.
* 1789 – The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth, is printed in Boston, Massachusetts.
* 1793 – After being found guilty of treason by the French Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine.
* 1840 – Jules Dumont d'Urville discovers Adélie Land, Antarctica.
* 1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.
* 1864 – The Tauranga Campaign begins during the Maori Wars.
* 1887 – 465 millimetres (18.3 in) of rain falls in Brisbane, a record for any Australian capital city.
* 1893 – The Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, is formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana.
* 1899 – Opel manufactures its first automobile.
* 1908 – New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor.
* 1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally takes place.
* 1915 – Kiwanis International is founded in Detroit, Michigan.
* 1919 – Meeting of the First Dáil Éireann in the Mansion House Dublin. Sinn Féin adopts Ireland's first constitution. The first engagement of Irish War of Independence, Sologhead Beg, County Tipperary.
* 1925 – Albania declares itself a republic.
* 1931 – Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia.
* 1948 – The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec. The day is marked annually as Quebec Flag Day.
* 1950 – Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.
* 1954 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.
* 1958 – The last Fokker C.X in military service, the Finnish Air Force FK-111 target tower, crashes, killing the pilot and winch-operator.
* 1960 – Little Joe 1B, a Mercury spacecraft, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia with Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey on board.
* 1960 – Avianca Flight 671 crashes and burns upon landing at Montego Bay, Jamaica, killing 37. It is the worst air disaster in Jamaica's history and the first for Avianca.
* 1968 – Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh – One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins.
* 1968 – A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete.
* 1971 – The current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, begins transmitting UHF broadcasts.
* 1976 – Commercial service of Concorde begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes.
* 1977 – President Jimmy Carter pardons nearly all American Vietnam War draft evaders, some of whom had emigrated to Canada.
* 1981 – Production of the iconic DeLorean DMC-12 sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.
* 1985 – The inauguration of President Ronald Reagan to a second term, already postponed a day because January 20 fell on a Sunday, becomes the second inauguration in history moved indoors because of freezing temperatures and high winds. The parade is cancelled altogether.
* 1997 – Newt Gingrich becomes the first leader of the United States House of Representatives to be internally disciplined for ethical misconduct.
* 1999 – War on Drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 4,300 kilograms (9,500 lb) of cocaine on board.
* 2000 – Ecuador: After the Ecuadorian Congress is seized by indigenous organizations, Col. Lucio Gutierrez, Carlos Solorzano and Antonio Vargas depose President Jamil Mahuad. Gutierrez is later replaced by Gen. Carlos Mendoza, who resigns and allows Vice-President Gustavo Noboa to succeed Mahuad.
* 2003 – A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Mexican state of Colima, killing 29 and leaving approximately 10,000 people homeless.
* 2004 – NASA's MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6.
* 2005 – In Belmopan, Belize, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.
* 2008 – Black Monday in worldwide stock markets. FTSE 100 had its biggest ever one-day points fall, European stocks closed with their worst result since 11 September 2001, and Asian stocks drop as much as 14%.

January 21 Birthdays

2012-01-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

* 1338 – King Charles V of France (d. 1380)
* 1610 – Elizabeth Fones, English-born colonial American pioneer (d. 1673)
* 1721 – James Murray, British military officer, governor of Quebec (d. 1794)
* 1804 – Eliza Roxcy Snow, American poet (d. 1887)
* 1813 – John C. Frémont, American army officer, explorer and presidential candidate (d. 1890)
* 1815 – John Bingham, American politician and lawyer (d. 1900)
* 1824 – Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, American, Confederate army general (d. 1863)
* 1825 – Imre Madách, Hungarian writer (d. 1864)
* 1827 – Ivan Mikheevich Pervushin, Russian mathematician (d. 1900)
* 1829 – King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway (d. 1907)
* 1848 – Henri Duparc, French composer (d. 1933)
* 1860 – Karl Staaff, Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1915)
* 1864 – Paul Troje, German politician (d. 1942)
* 1867 – Ludwig Thoma, German writer (d. 1921)
* 1867 – Maxime Weygand, French general (d. 1965)
* 1881 – Arch McCarthy, American baseball player (d. unknown)
* 1882 – Pavel Florensky (O.S. January 9), Russian Orthodox theologian and mathematician (d. 1937)
* 1883 – Olav Aukrust, Norwegian poet (d. 1929)
* 1883 – Amang Rodriguez, Filipino politician (d. 1964)
* 1884 – Roger Baldwin, American social activist (d. 1981)
* 1885 – Umberto Nobile, Italian aeronautical engineer (d. 1978)
* 1887 – Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1926)
* 1887 – Maude Farris-Luse, American supercentenarian who was the oldest living person at the age of 115. (d. 2002)
* 1895 – Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish couturier (d. 1972)
* 1897 – René Iché, French sculptor (d. 1954)
* 1899 – Alexander Tcherepnin, Russian born American composer (d. 1977)
* 1901 – Ricardo Zamora, Spanish footballer (d. 1978)
* 1905 – Christian Dior, French fashion designer (d. 1957)
* 1905 – Karl Wallenda, German acrobat (d. 1978)
* 1906 – Igor Moiseyev, Russian choreographer (d. 2007)
* 1909 – Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer (d. 2004)
* 1910 – Albert Rosellini, American politician and 15th Governor of Washington (d. 2011)
* 1910 – Eua Sunthornsanan, Thai composer and bandleader (d. 1981)
* 1912 – Konrad Emil Bloch, German-born biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2000)
* 1918 – Chichay, Filipino actress (d. 1993)
* 1918 – Richard D. Winters, American war hero (d. 2011)
* 1919 – Eric "Winkle" Brown, Scottish test pilot
* 1921 – Howard Unruh, American mass murderer (d. 2009)
* 1922 – Telly Savalas, American actor (d. 1994)
* 1922 – Paul Scofield, English actor (d. 2008)
* 1923 – Lola Flores, Spanish singer (d. 1995)
* 1924 – Benny Hill, English actor, comedian, and singer (d. 1992)
* 1926 – Brian Brockless, English organist (d. 1995)
* 1926 – Steve Reeves, American actor (d. 2000)
* 1927 – Clive Churchill, Australian rugby league footballer (d. 1985)
* 1928 – Gene Sharp, American political theorist and pacifist
* 1932 – John Chaney, American basketball coach
* 1933 – Joseph W. Eschbach, American doctor (d. 2007)
* 1934 – Audrey Dalton, Irish actress
* 1935 – Ann Wedgeworth, American actress
* 1936 – Plácido Domingo, Spanish tenor
* 1936 – Koji Hashimoto, Japanese film director (d. 2005)
* 1937 – Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria
* 1938 – Wolfman Jack, American disk jockey and actor (d. 1995)
* 1938 – John Savident, British actor
* 1940 – Jack Nicklaus, American golfer
* 1941 – Stathis Giallelis, Greek actor
* 1941 – Richie Havens, American musician
* 1941 – Mike Medavoy, American film producer
* 1941 – Ivan Putski, Polish-born American professional wrestler
* 1942 – Mac Davis, American musician
* 1942 – Edwin Starr, American singer (d. 2003)
* 1943 – Dimitris Poulikakos, Greek actor, songwriter and singer
* 1945 – Martin Shaw, British actor
* 1946 – Johnny Oates, American baseball player and manager (d. 2004)
* 1947 – Jill Eikenberry, American actress
* 1947 – Pye Hastings, English singer and musician (Caravan)
* 1947 – Michel Jonasz, French singer and composer
* 1950 – Gary Locke, American politician, 21st Governor of Washington, and 36th United States Secretary of Commerce
* 1950 – Billy Ocean, West Indian musician
* 1951 – Eric Holder, American jurist, and 82nd United States Attorney General
* 1952 – Marco Camenisch, Swiss environmental activist
* 1952 – Cyril and Libbye Hellier, identical-twin sopranos
* 1952 – Louis Menand, American writer and critic
* 1953 – Paul Allen, American entrepreneur, co-founder of Microsoft
* 1954 – Phil Thompson, English footballer and coach
* 1954 – Idrissa Ouedraogo, Burkinabé filmmaker
* 1955 – Jeff Koons, American artist
* 1956 – Robby Benson, American actor
* 1956 – Geena Davis, American actress
* 1957 – Greg Ryan, American soccer coach
* 1958 – Frank Ticheli, American composer
* 1958 – Michael Wincott, Canadian actor
* 1959 – Alex McLeish, Scottish footballer and manager
* 1962 – Tyler Cowen, American economist
* 1962 – Marie Trintignant, French actress (d. 2003)
* 1963 – Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-born American basketball player
* 1963 – Detlef Schrempf, German basketball player
* 1965 – Jam Master Jay, American disc jockey (d. 2002)
* 1966 – Robert Del Naja, English musician
* 1966 – Candi Milo, American voice actress
* 1967 – Artashes Minasian, Armenian chess Grandmaster
* 1968 – Ulrica Messing, Swedish politician
* 1968 – Charlotte Ross, American actress
* 1969 – Eduard Hämäläinen, Finnish-Belarusian decathlete
* 1969 – M. K. Hobson, American speculative fiction and fantasy writer
* 1969 – Karina Lombard, American actress
* 1969 – Tsubaki Nekoi, Japanese manga artist
* 1970 – Ken Leung, American actor
* 1970 – Mark Trojanowski, American musician (Sister Hazel)
* 1971 – Alan McManus, Scottish snooker player
* 1971 – Tweet, American singer
* 1971 – Doug Weight, American ice hockey player
* 1972 – Alan Benes, American baseball player
* 1972 – Rick Falkvinge, Swedish politician
* 1972 – Yasunori Mitsuda, Japanese composer
* 1972 – Cat Power (Chan Marshall), American musician
* 1973 – Duane Lee Chapman, II, American bounty hunter
* 1974 – Rove McManus, Australian television host and comedian
* 1974 – Alex Sperafico, Brazilian racing driver
* 1975 – Nicky Butt, English footballer
* 1975 – Thomas Castaignede, French rugby player
* 1975 – Yuji Ide, Japanese racing driver
* 1975 – Ito, Spanish footballer
* 1976 – Emma Bunton, English singer (Spice Girls)
* 1977 – Al Baxter, Australian rugby union footballer
* 1977 – Phil Neville, English footballer
* 1977 – Matt Perry, English rugby player
* 1977 – Jerry Trainor, American comedic actor (iCarly)
* 1978 – Bryan Gilmore, National Football League player
* 1978 – Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin, American singer
* 1978 – Phil Stacey, American Idol finalist
* 1978 – Faris al-Sultan, German-Iraqi triathlete
* 1978 – Andrei Zyuzin, Russian ice hockey player
* 1979 – Byung-Hyun Kim, Korean baseball player
* 1979 – Spider Loc, American rapper, member of G-Unit
* 1979 – Brian O'Driscoll, Irish rugby union footballer
* 1980 – Dave Kitson, English footballer
* 1980 – Nana Mizuki, Japanese voice actress and singer
* 1980 – Mari Possa, Salvadorian-American pornographic actress
* 1981 – Gillian Chung Yan-tung, Hong Kong singer (Twins)
* 1981 – Jamie Dalrymple, English cricketer
* 1981 – Ivan Ergić, Serbian footballer
* 1981 – Dany Heatley, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1981 – Andy Lee, Korean singer (Shinhwa)
* 1981 – Izabella Miko, Polish actress and model
* 1982 – Nicolas Mahut, French tennis player
* 1982 – Simon Rolfes, German footballer
* 1982 – Go Shiozaki, Japanese professional wrestler
* 1982 – Dean Whitehead, English footballer
* 1983 – Alex Acker, American basketball player
* 1983 – Maryse Ouellet, Canadian model and professional wrestler
* 1983 – Peter Philipakos, American/Greek soccer player
* 1983 – Moritz Volz, German footballer
* 1984 – Raymond Gutierrez, Filipino actor and television host
* 1984 – Richard Gutierrez, Filipino actor and television host
* 1984 – Robert Ray, American baseball player
* 1985 – Salvatore Giunta, Medal of Honor recipient
* 1985 – Adrian Lewis, English darts player
* 1985 – Alex Pérez, Spanish footballer
* 1985 – Sasha Pivovarova, Russian model
* 1985 – Matt Unicomb, Australian basketball player
* 1986 – Peyton Hillis, American football player
* 1986 – Sushant Singh Rajput, Indian actor
* 1987 – Joe Ledley, Welsh footballer
* 1988 – Vanessa Hessler, Italian model
* 1988 – William C. Woxlin, Swedish composer
* 1990 – Jacob Smith, American actor
* 1994 – Laura Robson, British tennis player
* 1994 – BooBoo Stewart, American actor and singer
* 2001 – Jackson Brundage, American actor
* 2004 – Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

January 20 Events

2012-01-20T02:30:00.000-08:00

* 250 – Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian is martyred.
* 1265 – In Westminster, the first English parliament conducts its first meeting held by Simon de Montfort in the Palace of Westminster, now also known colloquially as the "Houses of Parliament".
* 1320 – Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
* 1356 – Edward Balliol abdicates as King of Scotland.
* 1502 – The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro is first explored.
* 1523 – Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
* 1576 – The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
* 1649 – Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other "high crimes".
* 1783 – The Kingdom of Great Britain signs a peace treaty with France and Spain, officially ending hostilities in the American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence).
* 1788 – The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides that Botany Bay is unsuitable for the location of a penal colony, and decides to move to Port Jackson.
* 1801 – John Marshall is appointed the Chief Justice of the United States.
* 1839 – In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
* 1841 – Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
* 1885 – L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster.
* 1887 – The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
* 1920 – The American Civil Liberties Union is founded.
* 1921 – The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
* 1929 – In Old Arizona, the first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, is released.
* 1934 – Fujifilm, the photographic and electronics company, is founded in Tokyo, Japan.
* 1936 – Edward VIII becomes King of the United Kingdom.
* 1941 – A Nazi officer is murdered in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers.
* 1942 – World War II: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials discuss the implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question".
* 1945 – World War II: Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
* 1945 – World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.
* 1949 – Point Four Program a program for economic aid to poor countries announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address for a full term as President.
* 1954 – The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
* 1959 – The first flight of the Vickers Vanguard.
* 1960 – Hendrik Verwoerd announces a plebiscite on whether South Africa should become a Republic.
* 1969 – East Pakistani police kill student activist Amanullah Asaduzzaman. The resulting outrage is in part responsible for the Bangladesh Liberation War.
* 1972 – Pakistan launched its Nuclear detterent program few weeks after its defeat in Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
* 1981 – Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated, at age 69 the oldest man ever to be inaugurated as U.S. President, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
* 1986 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
* 1987 – Church of England envoy Terry Waite is kidnapped in Lebanon.
* 1990 – On Black Saturday, the Red Army kills Azerbaijani civilians in Baku.
* 1991 – Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south.
* 1992 – Air Inter Flight 148 crashes near Strasbourg, France, killing 82 passengers and five crew members.
* 1999 – The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use, aimed especially at Internet cafés.
* 2001 – Philippine president Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent 4-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
* 2006 – Witnesses report seeing a bottlenose whale swimming in the River Thames, the first time the species had been seen in the Thames since records began in 1913.
* 2007 – A three-man team, using only skis and kites, completes a 1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1958 and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance.

January 20 Birthdays

2012-01-20T00:30:00.000-08:00

* 225 – Gordian III, Roman Emperor (d. 244)
* 1292 – Elisabeth of Bohemia (1292–1330) (d. 1330)
* 1435 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shogun (d. 1490)
* 1554 – King Sebastian of Portugal (d. 1578)
* 1586 – Johann Schein, German composer (d. 1630)
* 1664 – Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian writer and jurist (d. 1718)
* 1716 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French writer and numismatist (d. 1795)
* 1716 – King Charles III of Spain (d. 1788)
* 1732 – Richard Henry Lee, American statesman (d. 1794)
* 1755 – Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1824)
* 1775 – André-Marie Ampère, French physicist (d. 1836)
* 1781 – Joseph Hormayr Freiherr zu Hortenburg, Austrian politician (d. 1848)
* 1783 – Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (d. 1860)
* 1798 – Anson Jones, 5th and last President of Texas (d. 1858)
* 1804 – Eugène Sue, French novelist (d. 1857)
* 1812 – Thomas Meik, Scottish engineer (d. 1896)
* 1834 – George D. Robinson, 34th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
* 1837 – David Josiah Brewer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1910)
* 1855 – Ernest Chausson, French composer (d. 1899)
* 1867 – Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (d. 1944)
* 1873 – Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, Danish Nobel laureate (d. 1950)
* 1876 – Józef Hofmann, Polish pianist (d. 1967)
* 1878 – Finlay Currie, British actor (d. 1968)
* 1878 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer (d. 1968)
* 1880 – Walter W. Bacon, American politician and 60th Governor of Delaware (d. 1962)
* 1889 – Allan Haines Loughead, American aviation executive (d. 1969)
* 1891 – Mischa Elman, Ukrainian born violinist (d. 1967)
* 1893 – Georg Åberg, Swedish athlete (d. 1946)
* 1894 – Walter Piston, American composer (d. 1976)
* 1895 – Gábor Szegő, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1985)
* 1896 – George Burns, American actor, comedian (d. 1996)
* 1896 – Isabel Withers, American actress (d. 1968)
* 1898 – U Razak, Burmese politician (d. 1947)
* 1899 – Clarice Cliff, English ceramic artist (d. 1972)
* 1899 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese development of television (d. 1990)
* 1900 – Colin Clive, British actor (d. 1937)
* 1902 – Leon Ames, American actor (d. 1993)
* 1903 – Jennifer Ishikawa, Japanese singer (d. 1985)
* 1907 – Paula Wessely, Austrian actress (d. 2000)
* 1908 – Fleur Cowles, American writer, editor and artist (d. 2009)
* 1910 – Joy Adamson, Austrian naturalist and writer (d. 1980)
* 1911 – Wendell J. Westcott, American carillonneur (d. 2010)
* 1912 – Walter Briggs, Jr., American sports executive (d. 1970)
* 1913 – Cleon Skousen, American author (d. 2006)
* 1915 – Ghulam Ishaq Khan, President of Pakistan (d. 2006)
* 1918 – Juan García Esquivel, Mexican bandleader (d. 2002)
* 1918 – Nevin S. Scrimshaw, American food scientist
* 1920 – Federico Fellini, Italian film director (d. 1993)
* 1920 – DeForest Kelley, American actor (d. 1999)
* 1920 – Frank Kush, American football player and coach
* 1920 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian author and ski jumper (d. 2006)
* 1921 – Telmo Zarraonaindía, Spanish footballer (d. 2006)
* 1922 – Ray Anthony, American trumpeter, bandleader and actor
* 1922 – Graham Stark, British actor
* 1923 – Nora Brockstedt, Norwegian singer
* 1924 – Slim Whitman, American singer
* 1925 – Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan theologian and politician
* 1926 – Jamiluddin Aali, Pakistani poet, essayist and columnist
* 1926 – Qurratulain Hyder, Indian and Pakistani novelist (d. 2007)
* 1926 – Patricia Neal, American actress (d. 2010)
* 1926 – David Tudor, American pianist and composer (d. 1996)
* 1928 – Rudy Boesch, Contestant on Survivor: Borneo (3rd Place) and Survivor: All-Stars (17th Place)
* 1929 – Jimmy Cobb, American jazz drummer
* 1929 – Arte Johnson, American actor
* 1929 – Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, American race car driver (d. 1964)
* 1930 – Buzz Aldrin, American astronaut
* 1931 – David Lee, American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate
* 1931 – Hachidai Nakamura, Japanese songwriter and pianist (d. 1992)
* 1932 – Lou Fontinato, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1933 – Ron Townson, American singer (The 5th Dimension) (d. 2001)
* 1934 – Tom Baker, British actor
* 1935 – Alexander Men, Russian priest (d. 1990)
* 1935 – Joan Weston, Roller Derby Queen (d. 1997)
* 1937 – Dorothy Provine, American singer, dancer and actress (d. 2010)
* 1938 – William Berger, Austrian actor (d. 1993)
* 1938 – Derek Dougan, Northern Irish footballer (d. 2007)
* 1939 – Paul Coverdell, American politician (d. 2000)
* 1940 – Carol Heiss, American figure skater
* 1940 – Krishnam Raju, Indian actor and politician
* 1941 – Pierre Lalonde, Canadian singer and television host
* 1942 – Linda Moulton Howe, American investigative journalist and documentary producer-writer-director-editor
* 1944 – José Luis Garci, Spanish filmmaker
* 1944 – Farhad Mehrad, Iranian musician (d. 2002)
* 1945 – Robert Olen Butler, American writer
* 1945 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, cricket commentator and correspondent
* 1945 – Eric Stewart, English musician and songwriter (10cc)
* 1946 – David Lynch, American film director
* 1947 – Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist and directeur sportif
* 1948 – Nancy Kress, American writer
* 1948 – Mel Pritchard, British Musician
* 1948 – Natan Sharansky, Russian-born physicist and politician
* 1949 – Göran Persson, Prime Minister of Sweden (1996–2006)
* 1950 – Daniel Benzali, Brazilian-American actor
* 1950 – Liza Goddard, British actress
* 1950 – Edward Hirsch, American poet
* 1950 – Chuck Lefley, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1950 – Mahamane Ousmane, President of Niger
* 1951 – Ivan Fischer, Hungarian conductor
* 1951 – Ian Hill, British musician (Judas Priest)
* 1952 – Paul Stanley, American musician (Kiss)
* 1953 – Jeffrey Epstein, American financier and convicted sex offender
* 1953 – Colleen Zenk Pinter, American actress
* 1954 – Rudy La Scala, Venezuelan singer-songwriter
* 1954 – Ken Page, American cabaret singer and actor
* 1955 – Joe Doherty, Provisional Irish Republican Army member
* 1955 – Wyatt Knight, American actor
* 1955 – Hiromi Ōta, Japanese singer
* 1956 – Maria Larsson, Swedish politician
* 1956 – Bill Maher, American author, comedian, and political analyst
* 1958 – Lorenzo Lamas, American actor
* 1959 – Tami Hoag, American novelist
* 1959 – R.A. Salvatore, American author
* 1960 – Apa Sherpa, Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer, summitted Everest 19 times
* 1960 – Scott Thunes, American musician (Frank Zappa)
* 1960 – Will Wright, American computer game designer
* 1963 – Firebreaker Chip, American professional wrestler
* 1963 – James Denton, American actor
* 1964 – Ozzie Guillén, Venezuelan-born baseball player and manager
* 1964 – Ron Harper, American basketball player
* 1964 – Kazushige Nojima, Japanese game scenario writer
* 1965 – Colin Calderwood, Scottish footballer
* 1965 – Warren Joyce, English footballer
* 1965 – Greg Kriesel, American bassist (The Offspring)
* 1965 – John Michael Montgomery, American singer
* 1965 – Heather Small, British Soul Singer
* 1965 – Sophie, Countess of Wessex, the wife of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
* 1965 – Anton Weissenbacher, Romanian footballer
* 1966 – Stacey Dash, American actress
* 1966 – Tracii Guns, American guitarist
* 1966 – Rainn Wilson, American actor
* 1968 – Nick Anderson, American basketball player
* 1968 – Melissa Rivers, American reporter and actress
* 1969 – Patrick K. Kroupa, American computer hacker
* 1969 – Nicky Wire, British musician (Manic Street Preachers)
* 1970 – Mitch Benn, UK comedian, songwriter and actor
* 1970 – Kerri Kenney-Silver, American actress
* 1970 – Edwin McCain, American singer-songwriter
* 1970 – Skeet Ulrich, American actor
* 1971 – Gary Barlow, English singer (Take That)
* 1971 – Brian Giles, American baseball player
* 1971 – Derrick Green, American singer (Sepultura)
* 1971 – Wakanohana Masaru, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 66th Yokozuna
* 1971 – Gerard McDonnell, Irish mountaineer (d. 2008)
* 1971 – Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, American drummer (The Roots)
* 1973 – Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant
* 1974 – David Dei, Italian footballer
* 1975 – David Eckstein, American baseball player
* 1975 – Norberto Fontana, Argentine racing driver
* 1976 – Kirsty Gallacher, Scottish television presenter
* 1976 – Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
* 1977 – Melody, Belgian singer
* 1977 – Sid Wilson, American Musician, (Slipknot)
* 1978 – Joy Giovanni, American actress and glamour model
* 1978 – Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete
* 1978 – Allan Søgaard, Danish footballer
* 1978 – Luciano Zauri, Italian footballer
* 1979 – Asaka Kubo, Japanese gravure idol of 20th Century
* 1979 – Shang Yi, Chinese footballer
* 1979 – Will Young, British singer
* 1980 – Philippe Cousteau, Jr., French oceanographer; grandson of Jacques Cousteau
* 1980 – Brigitte Olivier, Belgian judoka
* 1981 – Daniel Cudmore, Canadian actor
* 1981 – Brendan Fevola, Australian Rules Football Player
* 1981 – Freddy Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
* 1981 – Owen Hargreaves, English footballer
* 1981 – Crystal Lowe, Canadian actress
* 1981 – Jason Richardson, American basketball player
* 1982 – Fredrik Strømstad, Norwegian footballer
* 1982 – Joe Swash, English actor
* 1983 – Geovany Soto, Puerto Rican baseball player
* 1983 – Paula Taylor, English-Thai actress, model and presenter
* 1983 – Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
* 1984 – Toni Gonzaga, Filipina actress and singer
* 1984 – Olivia Hallinan, English actress
* 1986 – Derek Fathauer, American professional golfer
* 1987 – Marco Simoncelli, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2011)
* 1988 – Denisse Lara, American singer-songwriter
* 1988 – Jeffrén Suárez, Spanish footballer
* 1988 – Benjamin Ulrich, German rugby player
* 1989 – Washington, Brazilian footballer
* 1991 – Jolyon Palmer, English racing driver; son of Jonathan Palmer

January 19 Events

2012-01-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

* 379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to Augustus, and gives him power over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.
* 1419 – Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy.
* 1511 – Mirandola surrenders to the French.
* 1520 – Sten Sture the Younger, the Regent of Sweden, is mortally wounded at the Battle of Bogesund.
* 1607 – San Agustin Church in Manila is officially completed; it is the oldest church still standing in the Philippines.
* 1661 – Thomas Venner is hanged, drawn and quartered in London.
* 1764 – John Wilkes is expelled from the British House of Commons for seditious libel.
* 1788 – The second group of ships of the First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay.
* 1795 – The Batavian Republic is proclaimed in the Netherlands bringing to an end the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
* 1806 – The United Kingdom occupies the Cape of Good Hope.
* 1812 – Peninsular War: After a ten day siege, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, orders British soldiers of the Light and third divisions to storm Ciudad Rodrigo.
* 1817 – An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, crosses the Andes from Argentina to liberate Chile and then Peru.
* 1829 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust Part 1 receives its premiere performance.
* 1839 – The British East India Company captures Aden.
* 1840 – Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigates Antarctica, claiming what became known as Wilkes Land for the United States.
* 1853 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il Trovatore receives its premiere performance in Rome.
* 1861 – American Civil War: Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in seceding from the United States.
* 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Mill Springs – The Confederacy suffers its first significant defeat in the conflict.
* 1871 – Franco-Prussian War: In the Siege of Paris, Prussia wins the Battle of St. Quentin. Meanwhile, the French attempt to break the siege in the Battle of Buzenval will end unsuccessfully the following day.
* 1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.
* 1893 – Henrik Ibsen's play The Master Builder receives its premiere performance in Berlin.
* 1899 – Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is formed.
* 1915 – Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.
* 1915 – World War I: German zeppelins bomb the towns of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn in the United Kingdom killing more than 20, in the first major aerial bombardment of a civilian target.
* 1917 – Silvertown explosion: 73 are killed and 400 injured in an explosion in a munitions plant in London.
* 1920 – The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations.
* 1935 – Coopers Inc. sells the world's first briefs.
* 1937 – Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles, California to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
* 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces invade Burma
* 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces liberate the Łódź ghetto. Out more than 200,000 inhabitants in 1940, less than 900 had survived the Nazi occupation.
* 1946 – General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to try Japanese war criminals.
* 1949 – Cuba recognizes Israel.
* 1953 – 68% of all television sets in the United States are tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.
* 1960 – Japan and the United States sign the US-Japan Mutual Security Treaty
* 1969 – Student Jan Palach dies after setting himself on fire 3 days earlier in Prague's Wenceslas Square to protest the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1968. His funeral turned into another major protest.
* 1975 – An earthquake strikes Himachal Pradesh, India
* 1977 – President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (a.k.a. "Tokyo Rose").
* 1977 – Snow falls in Miami, Florida. This is the only time in the history of the city that snow has fallen. It also fell in the Bahamas.
* 1978 – The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW's plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America would continue until 2003.
* 1981 – Iran Hostage Crisis: United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.
* 1983 – Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie is arrested in Bolivia.
* 1983 – The Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple Inc. to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced.
* 1986 – The first computer virus released into the wild is a boot sector virus dubbed (c)Brain, created by the Farooq Alvi Brothers in Lahore, Pakistan, reportedly to deter piracy of the software they had written.
* 1991 – Gulf War: Iraq fires a second Scud missile into Israel, causing 15 injuries.
* 1993 – Czech Republic and Slovakia join the United Nations.
* 1996 – The barge North Cape oil spill occurs as an engine fire forces the tugboat Scandia ashore on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.
* 1997 – Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.
* 1999 – British Aerospace agrees to acquire the defence subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc, forming BAE Systems in November 1999.
* 2006 – A Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24 crashes in Hungary.
* 2006 – The New Horizons probe is launched by NASA on the first mission to Pluto.
* 2007 – Turkish Journalist Hrant Dink is assassinated in front of his newspaper's office by 17 year old Turkish ultranationalist Ogün Samast.

January 19 Birthdays

2012-01-19T00:30:00.000-08:00

* 399 – Pulcheria, Byzantine empress (d. 453)
* 1544 – King Francis II of France (d. 1560)
* 1736 – James Watt, Scottish inventor (d. 1819)
* 1739 – Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect (d. 1808)
* 1752 – James Morris III, American army officer (d. 1820)
* 1757 – Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf, German Princess (d. 1831)
* 1798 – Auguste Comte, French philosopher (d. 1857)
* 1807 – Robert E. Lee, American Confederate general (d. 1870)
* 1808 – Lysander Spooner, American philosopher (d. 1887)
* 1809 – Edgar Allan Poe, American writer and poet (d. 1849)
* 1813 – Sir Henry Bessemer, English inventor (d. 1898)
* 1832 – Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist (d. 1875)
* 1833 – Alfred Clebsch, German mathematician (d. 1872)
* 1839 – Paul Cézanne, French painter (d. 1906)
* 1848 – John F. Stairs, Canadian businessman (d. 1904)
* 1848 – Matthew Webb, English swimmer/diver (d. 1883)
* 1851 – Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer (d. 1922)
* 1863 – Werner Sombart, German sociologist (d. 1941)
* 1871 – Dame Gruev, Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1906)
* 1874 – Hitachiyama Taniemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 19th Yokozuna (d. 1922)
* 1876 – Wakashima Gonshirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 21st Yokozuna (d. 1943)
* 1876 – Dragotin Kette, Slovenian poet (d. 1899)
* 1878 – Herbert Chapman, English football player and manager (d. 1934)
* 1879 – Boris Savinkov, Russian writer (d. 1925)
* 1887 – Alexander Woollcott, American intellectual (d. 1943)
* 1889 – Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss painter and sculptor (d. 1943)
* 1892 – Ólafur Thors, Icelandic politician (d. 1964)
* 1893 – Magda Tagliaferro, Brazilian classical pianist (d. 1986)
* 1905 – Stanley Hawes, British-born Australian film producer, director and administrator (d. 1991)
* 1908 – Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician (d. 1971)
* 1909 – Hans Hotter, German bass-baritone (d. 2003)
* 1911 – Choor Singh, Singaporean judge (d. 2009)
* 1912 – Leonid Kantorovich, Russian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
* 1913 – Rex Ingamells, Australian poet (d. 1955)
* 1914 – Bob Gerard, British racing driver (d. 1990)
* 1917 – John Raitt, American singer and actor (d. 2005)
* 1918 – John H. Johnson, American publisher (d. 2005)
* 1920 – Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian United Nations Secretary General
* 1921 – William 'Billy Batts' Devino, American gangster (d. 1970)
* 1921 – Patricia Highsmith, American author (d. 1995)
* 1922 – Guy Madison, American actor (d. 1996)
* 1923 – Jean Stapleton, American actress
* 1923 – Markus Wolf, German spy (d. 2006)
* 1924 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor (d. 1985)
* 1924 – Jean-François Revel, French author (d. 2006)
* 1925 – Nina Bawden, English author
* 1926 – Fritz Weaver, American actor
* 1930 – Tippi Hedren, American actress
* 1931 – Robert MacNeil, Canadian journalist
* 1932 – Richard Lester, British director
* 1932 – Russ Hamilton, British singer (d. 2008)
* 1933 – George Coyne, American theologian
* 1934 – Lloyd Robertson, Canadian journalist
* 1935 – Soumitra Chatterjee, Indian actor
* 1935 – Johnny O'Keefe, Australian singer (d. 1978)
* 1936 – Ziaur Rahman, Seventh President of Bangladesh (d. 1981)
* 1937 – John Lions, Australian computer scientist (d. 1998)
* 1937 – Giovanna Marini, Italian singer-songwriter
* 1939 – Phil Everly, American musician
* 1940 – Paolo Borsellino, Italian magistrate (d. 1992)
* 1940 – Mike Reid, English comedian (d. 2007)
* 1941 – Tony Anholt, British actor (d. 2002)
* 1941 – Colin Gunton, British theologian (d. 2003)
* 1941 – Pat Patterson, Canadian wrestler
* 1942 – Michael Crawford, British singer and actor
* 1942 – Thom Mayne, American Architect
* 1943 – Petchara Chaowarat, Thai film actress
* 1943 – Janis Joplin, American singer (d. 1970)
* 1943 – Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
* 1944 – Shelley Fabares, American actress
* 1944 – Laurie London, English singer
* 1944 – Peter Lynch, American investor
* 1944 – Dan Reeves, American football coach
* 1945 – Trevor Williams, English Bass Guitarist
* 1946 – Julian Barnes, English author
* 1946 – Dolly Parton, American singer and actress
* 1947 – Ann Compton, American news reporter
* 1947 – Paula Deen, American chef and restaurateur
* 1947 – Rod Evans, British musician (Deep Purple)
* 1948 – Frank McKenna, Canadian politician
* 1949 – Robert Palmer, English singer and guitarist (d. 2003)
* 1949 – Dennis Taylor, Northern Irish snooker player
* 1950 – Sébastien Dhavernas, Canadian actor
* 1950 – Grant Nordman, Canadian politician
* 1953 – Desi Arnaz, Jr., American actor
* 1953 – Linda Hayden, English actress
* 1953 – Richard Legendre, Canadian politician
* 1954 – Katey Sagal, American actress
* 1954 – Cindy Sherman, American photographer
* 1954 – Katharina Thalbach, German actress and film director
* 1955 – Simon Rattle, English conductor
* 1955 – Paul Rodriguez, Mexican/American actor and comedian
* 1956 – Carman Licciardello, American singer
* 1957 – Ottis Anderson, former American football player
* 1957 – Kenneth McClintock, Puerto Rican politician
* 1959 – Jeff Pilson, American bass guitarist
* 1961 – William Ragsdale, American actor
* 1962 – Hans Daams, Dutch cyclist
* 1962 – Jeff Van Gundy, American basketball coach
* 1962 – Chris Sabo, American baseball player
* 1963 – Michael Adams, American basketball player
* 1963 – Martin Bashir, Pakistani-born reporter
* 1963 – Caron Wheeler, British singer (Soul II Soul)
* 1964 – Janine Antoni, Bahamian artist
* 1964 – Ricardo Arjona, Guatemalan singer
* 1966 – Floris Jan Bovelander, Dutch field hockey player
* 1966 – Sylvain Côté, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1966 – Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player
* 1966 – Lena Philipsson, Swedish singer
* 1967 – Javier Cámara, Spanish actor
* 1968 – Whitfield Crane, American musician (Ugly Kid Joe)
* 1969 – Edwidge Danticat, Haitian/American author
* 1969 – Luc Longley, Australian basketball player
* 1969 – Predrag Mijatović, Yugoslavian footballer
* 1969 – Junior Seau, American football player
* 1969 – Casey Sherman, American author
* 1969 – Steve Staunton, Irish footballer
* 1970 – Kathleen Smet, Belgian triathlete
* 1970 – Udo Suzuki, Japanese comedian
* 1971 – Shawn Wayans, American actor
* 1971 – John Wozniak, American singer and songwriter (Marcy Playground)
* 1972 – Angham, Egyptian singer, record producer and actress
* 1972 – Joana Benedek, Mexican actress
* 1972 – Jon Fisher, American entrepreneur
* 1972 – Princess Kalina of Bulgaria
* 1972 – Elena Kaliská, Slovak slalom canoer
* 1972 – Ron Killings, American professional wrestler
* 1972 – Drea de Matteo, American actress
* 1972 – Troy Wilson, Australian racing driver and AFL player
* 1973 – Antero Manninen, Finnish cellist
* 1973 – Yevgeny Sadovyi, Russian swimmer
* 1973 – Aaron Yonda, YouTube celebrity
* 1974 – Frank Caliendo, American comedian
* 1974 – Ian Laperrière, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1974 – Jaime Moreno, Bolivian footballer
* 1975 – Noah Georgeson, American musician
* 1976 – Natale Gonnella, Italian footballer
* 1976 – Tarso Marques, Brazilian racing driver
* 1977 – Benjamin Ayres, Canadian actor
* 1977 – Lauren Etame Mayer, Cameroonian footballer
* 1977 – Nicole, Chilean singer
* 1977 – Cocco, Japanese singer
* 1979 – Svetlana Khorkina, Russian gymnast
* 1979 – Josu Sarriegi, Spanish/Basque footballer
* 1979 – Wiley, English rapper
* 1980 – Jenson Button, English Formula One driver
* 1980 – Kotoko, Japanese singer
* 1980 – Luke Macfarlane, Canadian actor
* 1981 – Kerby Raymundo, Filipino basketball player
* 1981 – Asier Del Horno, Spanish footballer
* 1981 – Lucho González, Argentine footballer
* 1981 – Dimosthenis Manousakis, Greek footballer
* 1981 – Bitsie Tulloch, American actress
* 1982 – Angela Chang, Taiwanese singer and actress
* 1982 – Mike Komisarek, American ice hockey player
* 1982 – Jodie Sweetin, American actress
* 1983 – Hikaru Utada, American/Japanese singer and songwriter
* 1984 – Fabio Catacchini, Italian footballer
* 1984 – Karun Chandhok, Indian racing driver
* 1984 – Jimmy Kebe, Malian footballer
* 1984 – Thomas Vanek, Austrian ice hockey player
* 1985 – Jake Allen, American football player
* 1985 – Benny Feilhaber, American soccer player
* 1985 – Esteban Guerrieri, Argentine racing driver
* 1985 – Rika Ishikawa, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
* 1986 – Claudio Marchisio, Italian footballer
* 1986 – Loren Galler-Rabinowitz, American ice dancer
* 1987 – Edgar Manucharyan, Armenian footballer
* 1987 – Angus Monfries, Australian league footballer
* 1988 – JaVale McGee, American Basketball Player
* 1991 – Erin Sanders, American actress
* 1992 – Logan Lerman, American actor
* 1992 – Shawn Johnson, American gymnast
* 1992 – Mac Miller, American rapper
* 1993 – Gus Lewis, English actor

January 18th Blackout

2012-01-17T23:59:00.000-08:00

This website will not be posting on January 18 in support of the Blackout to protest SOPA and PIPA. We are joining Reddit.com, Tucows.com, The entire Cheezburger Network, Destructoid.com and the Hacktivist group, Anonymous along with many other great sites in going offline for the day.

I hope you will join us in contacting your Congress person and letting them know that you like the internets the way they are. The rich and powerful run enough of our lives, let us tell our congressmen that we want this left as it was.

January 18 Birthdays

2012-01-17T23:50:00.000-08:00

* 885 – Daigo, Emperor of Japan (d. 930)
* 1519 – Isabella Jagiełło, queen of Hungary (d. 1559)
* 1543 – (baptised) Alfonso Ferrabosco the elder, Italian composer (d. 1588)
* 1641 – François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, French war minister (d. 1691)
* 1659 – Damaris Cudworth Masham, English philosopher (d. 1708)
* 1672 – Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French writer (d. 1731)
* 1688 – Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1765)
* 1689 – Montesquieu, French satirist and philosopher (d. 1755)
* 1743 – Louis Claude de Saint-Martin French philosopher, known as le philosophe inconnu. (d. 1803)
* 1779 – Peter Mark Roget, British lexicographer (d. 1869)
* 1782 – Daniel Webster, American statesman (d. 1852)
* 1795 – Anna Pavlovna of Russia, queen of The Netherlands (d. 1865)
* 1813 – Joseph Glidden, American farmer who patented barbed wire (d. 1906)
* 1815 – Constantin von Tischendorf, German biblical scholar (d. 1874)
* 1840 – Henry Austin Dobson, English poet (d. 1921)
* 1841 – Emmanuel Chabrier, French composer (d. 1894)
* 1842 – A. A. Ames, Mayor of Minneapolis (d. 1911)
* 1848 – Ioan Slavici, Transylvanian writer (d. 1925)
* 1849 – Sir Edmund Barton, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1920)
* 1850 – Seth Low, American politician (d. 1916)
* 1853 – Marthinus Nikolaas Ras, South African Gunmaker (d. 1900)
* 1854 – Thomas Watson, American telephone pioneer (d. 1934)
* 1856 – Daniel Hale Williams, African-American surgeon (d. 1931)
* 1867 – Rubén Darío, Nicaraguan Journalist, Diplomat, Poet (d. 1916)
* 1877 – Samuel Zemurray, U.S. businessman (d. 1961)
* 1879 – Henri Giraud, French general (d. 1949)
* 1879 – Tane Ikai, Japanese supercentenarian. (d. 1995)
* 1880 – Paul Ehrenfest, Austrian physicist (d. 1933)
* 1881 – Gaston Gallimard, French publisher (d. 1975)
* 1882 – A. A. Milne, English author (d. 1956)
* 1886 – Clara Nordström, German writer and translator (d. 1962)
* 1888 – Thomas Sopwith, British aviation pioneer (d. 1989)
* 1892 – Oliver Hardy, American comedian and actor (d. 1957)
* 1892 – Paul Rostock, German surgeon (d. 1956)
* 1896 – C. M. Eddy, Jr., American writer (d. 1967)
* 1901 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician (d. 1973)
* 1904 – Anthony Galla-Rini, American accordionist (d. 2006)
* 1904 – Cary Grant, English actor (d. 1986)
* 1905 – Joseph Bonanno, Italian-born gangster (d. 2002)
* 1908 – Jacob Bronowski, Polish-born mathematician, poet, and physicist (d. 1974)
* 1908 – Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1972)
* 1910 – Kenneth E. Boulding, English economist (d. 1993)
* 1911 – José María Arguedas, Peruvian novelist, poet, and anthropologist (d. 1969).
* 1913 – Danny Kaye, American actor (d. 1987)
* 1913 – Giannis Papaioannou, Greek composer and musician (d. 1972)
* 1914 – Arno Schmidt, German author (d. 1979)
* 1914 – Vitomil Zupan, Slovenian writer (d. 1987)
* 1915 – Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer and songwriter (d. 1984)
* 1917 – Wang Yung-ching, Taiwanese businessman (d. 2008)
* 1918 – Gustave Gingras, French Canadian physician (d. 1996)
* 1921 – Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-born American Nobel Prize-winning physicist
* 1922 – Bob Bell, American clown (d. 1997)
* 1925 – Gilles Deleuze, French philosopher (d. 1995)
* 1927 – Sundaram Balachander, Indian veena player (d. 1990)
* 1931 – Chun Doo-hwan, President of South Korea
* 1932 – Robert Anton Wilson, American author (d. 2007)
* 1933 – John Boorman, Irish film director
* 1933 – Ray Dolby, American inventor (Dolby noise reduction system)
* 1934 – Raymond Briggs, English writer and illustrator
* 1935 – Albert Millaire, Quebec actor and theatre director
* 1935 – Jon Stallworthy, English poet
* 1935 – Gad Yaacobi, Israeli minister (d. 2007)
* 1937 – Dick Durock, American actor d.2009
* 1937 – John Hume, Northern Irish politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998
* 1938 – Curt Flood, American baseball player (d. 1997)
* 1938 – Anthony Giddens, British sociologist
* 1940 – Pedro Rodriguez, Mexican racing driver (d. 1971)
* 1941 – Denise Bombardier, Quebec journalist, television host and novelist
* 1941 – Bobby Goldsboro, American country/pop singer
* 1941 – David Ruffin, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 1991)
* 1943 – Paul Freeman, British actor
* 1943 – Kay Granger, American politician
* 1944 – Paul Keating, twenty-fourth Prime Minister of Australia
* 1944 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (d. 1983)
* 1945 – José Luis Perales, Spanish singer
* 1946 – Joseph Deiss, Swiss Federal Councilor
* 1947 – Sachio Kinugasa, Japanese baseball player
* 1947 – Takeshi Kitano, Japanese actor and director
* 1949 – Bill Keller, American newspaper editor
* 1949 – Philippe Starck, French designer
* 1950 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (d. 1982)
* 1951 – Bram Behr, Surinamese journalist (d. 1982)
* 1951 – Bob Latchford, English footballer
* 1952 – Michael Angelis, British actor
* 1952 – Michael Behe, American advocate of Intelligent Design
* 1952 – R. Stevie Moore, American singer, songwriter, and home recording pioneer
* 1953 – Brett Hudson, American musician
* 1954 – Ted DiBiase, Retired Professional Wrestler
* 1955 – Kevin Costner, American actor
* 1955 – Fergus Martin, Irish artist
* 1956 – Sharon Mitchell, American porn actress
* 1961 – Peter Beardsley, English footballer
* 1961 – Bobby Hansen, American basketball player
* 1961 – Mark Messier, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1961 – Jeff Yagher, American actor
* 1962 – Alison Arngrim, American actress
* 1962 – David O'Connor, American equestrian rider
* 1963 – Maxime Bernier, French Canadian politician
* 1963 – Martin O'Malley, Governor of Maryland
* 1963 – Yury Zakharevich, Soviet weightlifter
* 1964 – Brady Anderson, American baseball player
* 1964 – Jane Horrocks, British actress
* 1964 – Andrea Leand, American tennis player
* 1964 – Enrico Lo Verso, Italian actor
* 1965 – Dave Attell, American writer and comedian
* 1966 – Alexander Khalifman, Russian chess player
* 1966 – André Ribeiro, Brazilian racing driver
* 1967 – Kim Perrot, American basketball player (d. 1999)
* 1967 – Iván Zamorano, Chilean footballer
* 1968 – Frank Quitely, Scottish comic book artist
* 1969 – Dave Bautista, American professional wrestler
* 1969 – John Eder, American politician
* 1969 – Jesse L. Martin, American actor and singer
* 1969 – Jim O'Rourke, American musician and producer (Loose Fur and Wilco)
* 1970 – DJ Quik, American rapper
* 1970 – Peter van Petegem, Belgian cyclist
* 1971 – Jonathan Davis, American singer (KoЯn)
* 1971 – Christian Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver
* 1971 – Josep Guardiola, Spanish footballer
* 1971 – Fabian Ribauw, Nauruan politician
* 1971 – Seamus O'Regan, Canadian broadcast journalist
* 1972 – Vinod Kambli, Indian cricket player
* 1972 – Mike Lieberthal, American baseball player
* 1973 – Burnie Burns, director, voice actor, producer, screenwriter, co-founder of Rooster Teeth Productions
* 1973 – Ben Jealous, African-American leader, president of the NAACP
* 1973 – Anthony Koutoufides, Australian rules footballer and Gladiator
* 1973 – Crispian Mills, British musician (The Jeevas and Kula Shaker)
* 1974 – Christian Burns, English musician (BBMak)
* 1974 – Princess Claire of Belgium
* 1974 – Devon Odessa, American actress
* 1974 – Maulik Pancholy, American actor
* 1974 – Michael Tunn, Australian television presenter and radio announcer
* 1976 – Laurence Courtois, Belgian tennis player
* 1976 – Damien Leith, Irish-born Australian singer, winner of Australian Idol 2006
* 1976 – Subhrajit Mitra, Indian filmmaker
* 1977 – Richard Archer, British singer (lead singer of Hard-Fi)
* 1977 – Curtis Cregan, American actor
* 1977 – Alina Jidkova, Russian tennis player
* 1977 – Richard Wall, Irish actor
* 1978 – Brian Falkenborg, American baseball player
* 1978 – Thor Hushovd, Norwegian cyclist
* 1978 – Bogdan Lobont, Romanian football player
* 1979 – Jay Chou, Taiwanese singer, producer, actor and director
* 1979 – Ruslan Fedotenko, Ukrainian ice hockey player
* 1979 – Paulo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer
* 1979 – Brian Gionta, American ice hockey player
* 1979 – Kenyatta Jones, American football player
* 1980 – Robert Green, English footballer
* 1980 – Julius Peppers, American football player
* 1980 – Jason Segel, American actor
* 1980 – Estelle Swaray, English singer
* 1981 – Kang Dong-won, South Korean model and actor
* 1981 – Olivier Rochus, Belgian tennis player
* 1981 – Khari Stephenson, Jamaican footballer
* 1982 – Quinn Allman, American Guitarist, The Used
* 1982 – Joanna Newsom, American harpist
* 1983 – Samantha Mumba, Irish singer and actress
* 1984 – Seung-Hui Cho, American spree killer (d. 2007)
* 1984 – Kristy Lee Cook, American singer
* 1984 – Ioannis Drymonakos, Greek swimmer
* 1984 – Makoto Hasebe, Japanese footballer
* 1984 – Michael Kearney, American child prodigy
* 1984 – Benji Schwimmer, American dancer
* 1985 – Dale Begg-Smith, Australian freestyle skier
* 1985 – Minissha Lamba, Indian actress and model
* 1985 – Riccardo Montolivo, Italian footballer
* 1986 – Grigoris Makos, Greek footballer
* 1986 – Marya Roxx, Estonian singer
* 1987 – Johan Djourou, Swiss footballer
* 1987 – Christopher Liebig, German rugby player
* 1988 – Ronnie Day, American singer-songwriter
* 1988 – Anastasios Kissas, Greek footballer
* 1991 – Diego Simões, Brazilian footballer
* 1993 – Morgan York, American actress
* 1994 – Gong Min-ji, South Korean pop singer, rapper, and dancer of 2NE1
* 1994 – Kang Ji-young, South Korean singer
* 1999 – Karan Brar, American actor

January 18 Events

2012-01-17T23:30:00.000-08:00

* 350 – Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor.
* 474 – Leo II briefly becomes Byzantine emperor.
* 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople fail.
* 1126 – Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chinese throne in favour of his son Emperor Qinzong.
* 1486 – King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV.
* 1520 – King Christian II of Denmark and Norway defeats the Swedes at Lake Åsunden.
* 1535 – Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded Lima, the capital of Peru.
* 1562 – Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session.
* 1591 – King Naresuan of Siam kills Crown Prince Minchit Sra of Burma in single combat, for which this date is now observed marked as Royal Thai Armed Forces day.
* 1670 – Henry Morgan captures Panama.
* 1701 – Frederick I becomes King of Prussia.
* 1778 – James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the "Sandwich Islands".
* 1788 – The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from England to Australia arrives at Botany Bay.
* 1866 – Wesley College, Melbourne is established.
* 1871 – Wilhelm I of Germany is proclaimed the first German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles ( France ) towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. The empire is known as the Second Reich to Germans.
* 1884 – Dr. William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, Jesus Christ Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the United Kingdom.
* 1886 – Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England.
* 1896 – The X-ray machine is exhibited for the first time.
* 1903 – President Theodore Roosevelt sends a radio message to King Edward VII: the first transatlantic radio transmission originating in the United States.
* 1911 – Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania stationed in San Francisco harbor, the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.
* 1913 – A Greek flotilla defeats the Ottoman Navy in the Naval Battle of Lemnos during the First Balkan War, securing the islands of the Northern Aegean Sea for Greece.
* 1915 – Japan issues the "Twenty-One Demands" to the Republic of China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia.
* 1916 – A 611 gram chondrite type meteorite strikes a house near the village of Baxter in Stone County, Missouri.
* 1919 – World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France.
* 1919 – Ignacy Jan Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland.
* 1919 – Bentley Motors Limited is founded.
* 1941 – World War II: British troops launch a general counter-offensive against Italian East Africa.
* 1943 – Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: The first uprising of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
* 1944 – The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City hosts a jazz concert for the first time. The performers are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.
* 1944 – Soviet forces liberate Leningrad, effectively ending a three year Nazi siege, known as the Siege of Leningrad.
* 1945 – Liberation of the Budapest ghetto by the Red Army.
* 1955 – Battle of Yijiangshan is fought.
* 1958 – Willie O'Ree, the first African Canadian National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut.
* 1960 – Capital Airlines Flight 20 crashes into a farm in Charles City County, Virginia, killing all 50 aboard, the third fatal Capital Airlines crash in as many years.
* 1967 – Albert DeSalvo, the "Boston Strangler", is convicted of numerous crimes and is sentenced to life imprisonment.
* 1969 – United Airlines Flight 266 crashes into Santa Monica Bay killing all 32 passengers and six crew members.
* 1969 – Brahma Baba, founder father of Brahma Kumaris left his mortal coil.
* 1974 – A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War.
* 1976 – Lebanese Christian militias overrun Karantina, Beirut, killing at least 1,000.
* 1977 – Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease.
* 1977 – Australia's worst rail disaster occurs at Granville, Sydney killing 83.
* 1978 – The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
* 1978 – The roof structure of the Hartford Civic Center collapses after a significant snowfall.
* 1981 – Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachute off a Houston skyscraper, becoming the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).
* 1983 – The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals to his family.
* 1990 – Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
* 1993 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is officially observed for the first time in all 50 states.
* 1994 – The Cando event, a possible bolide impact in Cando, Spain. Witnesses claim to have seen a fireball in the sky lasting for almost one minute.
* 1997 – In north west Rwanda, Hutu militia members kill 3 Spanish aid workers, 3 soldiers and seriously wound one other.
* 1997 – Boerge Ousland of Norway becomes the first person to cross Antarctica alone and unaided.
* 2000 – The Tagish Lake meteorite impacts the Earth.
* 2002 – Sierra Leone Civil War is finally declared over.
* 2003 – A bushfire kills 4 people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia.
* 2005 – The Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial jet, is unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse, France
* 2007 – The strongest storm in the United Kingdom in 17 years kills 14 people, Germany sees the worst storm since 1999 with 13 deaths. Hurricane Kyrill, causes at least 44 deaths across 20 countries in Western Europe.
* 2009 – Gaza War: Hamas announces they will accept Israeli Defense Forces's offer of a ceasefire, ending the assault.

January 17 Events

2012-01-17T00:30:00.000-08:00

* 38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey.
* 395 – Emperor Theodosius I dies at Milan, the Roman Empire is re-divided into an eastern and a western half. The Eastern Roman Empire is centered in Constantinople under Arcadius, son of Theodosius, and the Western Roman Empire in Mediolanum under Honorius, his brother, at the age of 10.
* 1287 – King Alfonso III of Aragon invades Minorca.
* 1377 – Pope Gregory XI moves the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon.
* 1524 – Giovanni da Verrazzano sets sail westward from Madeira to find a sea route to the Pacific Ocean.
* 1562 – France recognizes the Huguenots under the Edict of Saint-Germain.
* 1595 – Henry IV of France declares war on Spain.
* 1608 – Emperor Susenyos of Ethiopia surprises an Oromo army at Ebenat; his army reportedly kills 12,000 Oromo at the cost of 400 men.
* 1648 – England's Long Parliament passes the Vote of No Addresses, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War.
* 1773 – Captain James Cook and his crew become the first Europeans to sail below the Antarctic Circle.
* 1781 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Cowpens – Continental troops under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeat British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the battle in South Carolina.
* 1799 – Maltese patriot Dun Mikiel Xerri, along with a number of other patriots, is executed.
* 1811 – Mexican War of Independence: In the Battle of Calderón Bridge, a heavily outnumbered Spanish force of 6,000 troops defeats nearly 100,000 Mexican revolutionists.
* 1852 – The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Boer colonies of the Transvaal.
* 1873 – A group of Modoc warriors defeats the United States Army in the First Battle of the Stronghold, a part of the Modoc War.
* 1885 – A British force defeats a large Dervish army at the Battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan.
* 1893 – The Citizen's Committee of Public Safety, led by Lorrin A. Thurston, overthrows the government of Queen Liliuokalani of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
* 1899 – The United States takes possession of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean.
* 1903 – El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico becomes part of the United States National Forest System as the Luquillo Forest Reserve.
* 1904 – Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard receives its premiere performance at the Moscow Art Theatre.
* 1912 – Captain Robert Falcon Scott reaches the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen.
* 1913 – Raymond Poincaré is elected President of France.
* 1917 – The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.
* 1918 – Finnish Civil War: The first serious battles take place between the Red Guards and the White Guard.
* 1929 – Popeye the Sailor Man, a cartoon character created by Elzie Segar, first appears in the Thimble Theatre comic strip.
* 1929 – Inayatullah Khan, king of the Emirate of Afghanistan abdicates the throne after only three days into his reign.
* 1941 – Franco-Thai War: French forces inflict a decisive victory over the Royal Thai Navy.
* 1944 – World War II: Allied forces launch the first of four battles with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome, an effort that would ultimately take four months and cost 105,000 Allied casualties.
* 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces capture the almost completely destroyed Polish city of Warsaw.
* 1945 – The Nazis begin the evacuation of the Auschwitz concentration camp as Soviet forces close in.
* 1945 – Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg is taken into Soviet custody while in Hungary; he is never publicly seen again.
* 1946 – The UN Security Council holds its first session.
* 1949 – The Goldbergs, the first sitcom on American television, first airs.
* 1950 – The Great Brinks Robbery – 11 thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car Company's offices in Boston, Massachusetts.
* 1961 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power by the "military-industrial complex".
* 1961 – Former Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba is murdered in circumstances suggesting the support and complicity of the governments of Belgium and the United States.
* 1966 – A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, dropping three 70-kiloton nuclear bombs near the town of Palomares and another one into the sea in the Palomares incident.
* 1969 – Black Panther Party members Bunchy Carter and John Huggins are killed during a meeting in Campbell Hall on the campus of UCLA.
* 1977 – Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by a firing squad in Utah, ending a ten-year moratorium on Capital punishment in the United States.
* 1981 – President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos lifts martial law eight years and five months after declaring it.
* 1982 – "Cold Sunday" - in the United States temperatures fell to their lowest levels in over 100 years in numerous cities.
* 1983 – The tallest department store in the world, Hudson's, flagship store in downtown Detroit closes due to high cost of operating.
* 1989 – Cleveland School massacre: Patrick Purdy opens fire with an assault rifle at the Cleveland Elementary School playground in Stockton, California, killing five children and wounding 29 others and one teacher before taking his own life.
* 1991 – Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins early in the morning. Iraq fires 8 Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation.
* 1991 – Harald V becomes King of Norway on the death of his father, Olav V.
* 1992 – During a visit to South Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II.
* 1994 – 1994 Northridge earthquake: A magnitude 6.7 earthquake hits Northridge, California.
* 1995 – The Great Hanshin earthquake: A magnitude 7.3 earthquake hits near Kobe, Japan, causing extensive property damage and killing 6,434 people.
* 1996 – The Czech Republic applies for membership of the European Union.
* 1997 – A Delta 2 carrying a GPS2R satellite explodes 13 seconds after launch, dropping 250 tons of burning rocket remains around the launch pad.
* 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: Matt Drudge breaks the story of the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair on his website The Drudge Report.
* 2001 – U.S. President Bill Clinton posthumously raises Meriwether Lewis' rank from Lieutenant to Captain.
* 2002 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
* 2007 – The Doomsday Clock is set to five minutes to midnight in response to North Korea nuclear testing.
* 2008 – British Airways Flight 38 crash lands just short of London Heathrow Airport in England with no fatalities. It is the first complete hull loss of a Boeing 777.
* 2010 – Rioting begins between Muslim and Christian groups in Jos, Nigeria, resulting in at least 200 deaths.