Events

• 1129 – Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes.

• 1301 – Andrew III of Hungary dies, ending the Arpad dynasty in Hungary.

• 1514 – Pope Leo X issues a papal bull against slavery.

• 1539 – Spain annexes Cuba.

• 1639 – The "Fundamental Orders", the first written constitution that created a government, is adopted in Connecticut.

• 1724 – King Philip V of Spain abdicates the throne.

• 1761 – The Third Battle of Panipat is fought in India between the Afghans under Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Marhatas. The Afghan victory changes the course of Indian History.

• 1784 – American Revolutionary War: Ratification Day, United States Congress ratifies Treaty of Paris with Great Britain.

• 1814 – Treaty of Kiel: Frederick VI of Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden in return for Pomerania.

• 1822 – Greek War of Independence: Acrocorinth is captured by Theodoros Kolokotronis and Demetrius Ypsilanti.

• 1858 – Napoleon III of France escapes an assassination attempt.

• 1907 – An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica kills more than 1,000.

• 1913 – First Balkan War: The Greek army defeats the Turks at Bizani.

• 1938 – Norway claims Queen Maud Land in Antarctica.

• 1943 – World War II: Operation Ke, the successful Japanese operation to evacuate their forces from Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal campaign, begins.

• 1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill begin the Casablanca Conference to discuss strategy and study the next phase of the war.

• 1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United States to travel via airplane while in office when he travels from Miami, Florida to Morocco to meet with Winston Churchill.

• 1950 – The first prototype of the MiG-17 makes its maiden flight.

• 1952 – NBC's long-running morning news program Today debuts, with host Dave Garroway.

• 1954 – The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation forming the American Motors Corporation.

• 1967 – Counterculture of the 1960s: The Human Be-In, takes place in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, launching the Summer of Love. Between 20,000 to 30,000 people attend.

• 1969 – An explosion aboard the near Hawaii kills 27 people.

• 1970- Diana Ross & The Supremes final concert appearance at The Frontier Hotel- Las Vegas

• 1972 – Queen Margrethe II of Denmark ascends the throne, the first Queen of Denmark since 1412 and the first Danish monarch not named Frederick or Christian since 1513.

• 1975 – Teenage heiress Lesley Whittle is kidnapped by Donald Neilson, aka "the Black Panther".

• 1998 – Researchers in Dallas, Texas present findings about an enzyme that slows aging and cell death (apoptosis).

• 1998 – An Afghan cargo plane crashes into a mountain in southwest Pakistan killing more than 50 people.

• 1999 – Toronto, Ontario Mayor Mel Lastman becomes the first mayor in Canada to call in the Army to help with emergency medical evacuations and snow removal after more than one meter of snow paralyzes the city.

• 2000 – A United Nations tribunal sentences five Bosnian Croats to up to 25 years for the 1993 killing of over 100 Muslims in a Bosnian village.

• 2004 – The national flag of Georgia, the so-called "five cross flag", is restored to official use after a hiatus of some 500 years.

• 2005 – Landing of the Huygens probe on Saturn's moon Titan.

Births

• 83 BC – Marcus Antonius, Roman politician (d. 30 BC)

• 1131 – King Valdemar I of Denmark (d. 1182)

• 1451 – Franchinus Gaffurius, Italian music theorist (d. 1522)

• 1477 – Hermann of Wied, German Catholic archbishop (d. 1552)

• 1507 – Catherine of Habsburg, Infanta of Spain and queen of Portugal (d. 1578)

• 1551 – Alberico Gentili, Italian jurist (d. 1608)

• 1615 – John Biddle, English theologian (d. 1662)

• 1684 – Johann Matthias Hase, German scientist (d. 1742)

• 1684 – Jean-Baptiste van Loo, French painter (d. 1745)

• 1702 – Nakamikado Emperor of Japan (d. 1737)

• 1705 – Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, French governor (d. 1786)

• 1741 – Benedict Arnold, American Traitor (d. 1801)

• 1767 – Maria Theresia of Tuscany, queen consort of Saxony (d. 1827)

• 1780 – Henry Baldwin, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1844)

• 1792 – Christian Julius De Meza, Danish general (d. 1865)

• 1793 – John C. Clark, American politician (d. 1852)

• 1798 – Johan Rudolf Thorbecke, Dutch politician (d. 1872)

• 1800 – Ludwig Alois Ferdinand Köchel, Austrian musicologist (d. 1877)

• 1806 – Sir Charles Hotham, Governor of Victoria (d. 1855)

• 1806 – Matthew Fontaine Maury American oceanographer (d. 1873)

• 1818 – Zacharias Topelius, Finnish-Swedish writer (d. 1898)

• 1824 – Vladimir Stasov, Russian art and music critic (d. 1906)

• 1836 – Henri Fantin-Latour, French painter (d. 1904)

• 1841 – Berthe Morisot, French painter (d. 1895)

• 1845 – 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, Governor-General of Canada, Viceroy of India (d. 1927)

• 1850 – Pierre Loti, French writer (d. 1923)

• 1850 – Jean de Reszke, Polish operatic tenor (d. 1925)

• 1856 – J. F. Archibald, Australian journalist and publisher (d. 1919)

• 1861 – Mehmed VI, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1926)

• 1863 – Manuel Gomes da Costa, 96^th Prime Minister of Portugal and 10^th President of Portugal (d. 1929)

• 1870 – Sir George Pearce, Australian politician (d. 1952)

• 1875 – Albert Schweitzer, Alsatian physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1965)

• 1882 – Hendrik Willem van Loon, Dutch-American historian and journalist (d. 1944)

• 1883 – Nina Ricci, Italian-born French fashion designer (d. 1970)

• 1886 – Hugh Lofting, English author (d. 1947)

• 1892 – Martin Niemöller, German theologian (d. 1984)

• 1892 – Hal Roach, American film producer (d. 1992)

• 1896 – John Dos Passos, American author (d. 1970)

• 1897 – Hasso von Manteuffel, German general and politician (d. 1978)

• 1899 – Carlos Romulo, Filipino diplomat and author (d. 1985)

• 1901 – Bebe Daniels, American actress (d. 1971)

• 1904 – Sir Cecil Beaton, English photographer (d. 1980)

• 1904 – Emily Hahn, American writer (d. 1997)

• 1904 – Babe Siebert, National Hockey League player (d. 1939)

• 1905 – Takeo Fukuda, 67th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1995)

• 1905 – Sterling Holloway, American Character Actor (d. 1992)

• 1906 – William Bendix, American actor (d. 1964)

• 1907 – Georges-Émile Lapalme, Quebec politician (d. 1985)

• 1908 – Russ Columbo, American singer (d. 1934)

• 1909 – Joseph Losey, American theatre and film director (d. 1984)

• 1911 – Anatoly Rybakov, Russian writer (d. 1998)

• 1912 – Tillie Olsen, American writer (d. 2007)

• 1914 – Harold Russell, Canadian-born actor (d. 2002)

• 1915 – Mark Goodson, American game show producer (d. 1992)

• 1917 – Billy Butterfield, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1988)

• 1919 – Giulio Andreotti, Italian politician

• 1919 – Andy Rooney, American journalist

• 1921 – Murray Bookchin, American libertarian socialist (d. 2006)

• 1924 – Guy Williams, American actor (d. 2002)

• 1925 – Yukio Mishima, Japanese writer (d. 1970)

• 1925 – Louis Quilico, Canadian baritone (d. 2000)

• 1926 – Frank Aletter, American actor (d. 2009)

• 1926 – Warren Mitchell, English actor

• 1926 – Tom Tryon, American actor (d. 1991)

• 1927 – Zuzana Ruzickova, Czech harpsichordist

• 1928 – Gerald Arpino, American dancer and choreographer

• 1928 – Garry Winogrand, American photographer (d. 1984)

• 1928 – Lars Forssell, Swedish writer (d. 2007)

• 1931 – Frank Costigan, Australian lawyer

• 1931 – Caterina Valente, French-born singer

• 1932 – Don Garlits, American race car driver

• 1933 – Stan Brakhage, American filmmaker (d. 2003)

• 1934 – Alberto Rodriguez Larreta, Argentine racing driver (d. 1977)

• 1934 – Richard Briers, English actor

• 1935 – Lucille Wheeler, Canadian alpine skier

• 1937 – Ken Higgs, English cricketer

• 1937 – Erland Kops, Danish badminton player

• 1937 – Shoban Babu, Indian actor

• 1938 – Morihiro Hosokawa, 79th Prime Minister of Japan

• 1938 – Jack Jones, American singer

• 1938 – Allen Toussaint, American singer

• 1940 – Julian Bond, American civil rights activist

• 1940 – Sir Trevor Nunn, English theatre director and film director

• 1940 – Ron Kostelnik, American football player (d. 1993)

• 1941 – Faye Dunaway, American actress

• 1941 – Milan Kučan, Slovenian statesman

• 1942 – Ian Brayshaw, Australian cricketer and footballer

• 1942 – Dave Campbell, American baseball player

• 1943 – Mariss Jansons, Latvian conductor

• 1943 – Shannon Lucid, American astronaut

• 1943 – José Luis Rodríguez, Venezuelan singer

• 1944 – Marjoe Gortner, American evangelist

• 1944 – Graham Marsh, Australian golfer

• 1944 – Nina Totenberg, American journalist

• 1945 – Einar Hakonarson, Icelandic painter

• 1945 – Maina Gielgud, British ballet dancer and administrator

• 1946 – Harold Shipman, British serial killer (d. 2004)

• 1947 – Taylor Branch, American author and historian

• 1947 – Bill Werbeniuk, Canadian snooker player (d. 2003)

• 1947 – Beverly Perdue, American politician

• 1948 – T-Bone Burnett, American producer

• 1948 – Valeri Kharlamov, Soviet Union ice hockey player (d. 1981)

• 1948 – Carl Weathers, American actor

• 1949 – Paul Chubb, Australian actor (d. 2002)

• 1949 – Lawrence Kasdan, American director

• 1949 – Mary Robison, American writer

• 1952 – Sydney Biddle Barrows, American author

• 1952 – Maureen Dowd, American writer

• 1952 – Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, ex-Prime Minister of Romania

• 1954 – Jim Duggan, American professional wrestler

• 1954 – Masanobu Fuchi, Japanese professional wrestler

• 1954 – Vernee Watson-Johnson, American actress

• 1956 – Étienne Daho, French singer and songwriter

• 1956 – Ben Heppner, Canadian tenor

• 1956 – Rosina Lippi-Green (Rosina Lippi, Sara Donati), U.S.American writer.

• 1957 – Suzanne Danielle, English actress

• 1957 – Anchee Min, Chinese writer

• 1959 – Geoff Tate, American musician (Queensrÿche)

• 1961 – Mike Tramp, Danish singer (White Lion)

• 1962 – Michael McCaul, American politician

• 1963 – Steven Soderbergh, American director

• 1964 – Mark Addy, British actor

• 1964 – Ernest Miller, American wrestler

• 1964 – Shepard Smith, American news anchor

• 1965 – Shamil Basayev, Chechen rebel (d. 2006)

• 1965 – Marc Delissen, Dutch field hockey player

• 1965 – Bob Essensa, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1965 – Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, British chef

• 1965 – Ellis Paul, American singer-songwriter and folk musician

• 1967 – Kerri Green, American actress

• 1967 – Leonardo "Leo" Ortolani, Italian comic book author

• 1967 – Emily Watson, English actress

• 1967 – Saskia Wickham, British actress

• 1967 – Zakk Wylde, American musician (Black Label Society)

• 1968 – LL Cool J, American rapper and actor

• 1968 – Ruel Fox, English footballer

• 1968 – Veikka Gustafsson, Finnish mountaineer

• 1969 – Jason Bateman, American actor

• 1969 – David Grohl, American drummer and composer (Nirvana, Foo Fighters)

• 1970 – Gene Snitsky, American professional wrestler

• 1971 – Lasse Kjus, Norwegian skier

• 1971 – Antonios Nikopolidis, Greek footballer

• 1972 – Kyle Brady, American football player

• 1972 – Dion Forster, South African theologian

• 1972 – Predrag Gosta, Yugoslav-born conductor

• 1972 – Raimondas Rumšas, Lithuanian cyclist

• 1973 – Giancarlo Fisichella, Italian race car driver

• 1974 – Kevin Durand, Canadian actor

• 1977 – Narain Karthikeyan, Indian A1GP driver

• 1978 – Just Blaze, American hip hop producer

• 1978 – Shawn Crawford, American sprinter

• 1979 – Karen Elson, British supermodel

• 1979 – Angela Lindvall, American supermodel

• 1979 – John Reuben, American hip hop artist

• 1980 – Clive Clarke, Irish footballer

• 1980 – Cory Gibbs, American soccer player

• 1980 – Ossama Haidar, a Lebanese soccer player

• 1980 – Byron Leftwich, American football player

• 1980 – Sosuke Sumitani, Japanese announcer

• 1980 – Hiroshi Tamaki, Japanese actor and model

• 1981 – Abdelmalek Cherrad, Algerian football

• 1981 – Rosa López, Spanish singer

• 1981 – Pitbull, American rapper

• 1982 – Caleb Followill, American singer (Kings of Leon)

• 1982 – Léo Lima, Brazilian footballer

• 1982 – Víctor Valdés, Spanish goalkeeper

• 1983 – Maxime Monfort, Belgian cyclist

• 1983 – Jason Krejza, Australian cricketer

• 1984 – Mike Pelfrey, American baseball player

• 1986 – Gary Brolsma, American internet celebrity

• 1986 – Cristina Aicardi, Peruvian badminton player

• 1988 – Mikalah Gordon, American singer

• 1988 – Hakeem Nicks, American football player

• 1988 – Jack P. Shepherd, English actor

• 1994 – Samir Patel, American spelling bee winner

Deaths

• 1163 – Ladislaus II of Hungary (b. 1131)

• 1235 – Saint Sava, Serbian saint (b. 1175)

• 1301 – King Andrew III of Hungary (b. 1265)

• 1331 – Odoric, Italian explorer (b. 1286)

• 1640 – Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry, English lawyer and judge (b. 1578)

• 1676 – Francesco Cavalli, Italian composer (b. 1602)

• 1679 – Jacques de Billy, French mathematician (b. 1602)

• 1701 – Tokugawa Mitsukuni, Japanese warlord (b. 1628)

• 1742 – Edmond Halley, English scientist (b. 1656)

• 1753 – George Berkeley, Irish theologian (b. 1685)

• 1776 – Edward Cornwallis, English military officer (b. 1713)

• 1786 – Michael Arne, English composer (b. 1741)

• 1786 – Meshech Weare, Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1713)

• 1788 – François Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasetilly, comte de Grasse, French admiral (b. 1722)

• 1819 – Peter Pindar, English satirist (b. 1738)

• 1825 – George Dance the Younger, English architect (b. 1741)

• 1833 – Seraphim of Sarov, Russian Orthodox saint (b. 1759)

• 1867 – Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, French painter (b. 1780)

• 1872 – Greyfriars Bobby, Famous dog (b. 1856)

• 1888 – Stephen Heller, Hungarian composer (b. 1813)

• 1889 – Ema Puksec, Croatian singer (b. 1834)

• 1892 – Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, British prince (b. 1864)

• 1898 – Lewis Carroll, English writer and mathematician (b. 1832)

• 1901 – Bishop Mandell Creighton, English historian and ecclesiastic (b. 1843)

• 1901 – Charles Hermite, French mathematician (b. 1822)

• 1905 – Ernst Abbe, German physicist (b. 1840)

• 1907 – Sir James Fergusson, British politician (b. 1832)

• 1908 – Holger Drachmann, Danish poet and dramatist (b. 1846)

• 1915 – Richard Meux Benson, founder of Anglican religious order (b. 1824)

• 1920 – John Francis Dodge, American automobile pioneer (b. 1864)

• 1923 – Zübeyde Hanım, Mother of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (b. 1857)

• 1937 – Jaishankar Prasad, Hindi poet, dramatist and novelist (b. 1889)

• 1942 – Porfirio Barba-Jacob, Colombian writer (b. 1883)

• 1949 – Joaquín Turina, Spanish composer (b. 1882)

• 1952 – Artur Kapp, Estonian composer (b. 1878)

• 1957 – Humphrey Bogart, American actor (b. 1899)

• 1961 – Barry Fitzgerald, Irish actor (b. 1888)

• 1965 – Jeanette MacDonald, American actress and singer (b. 1903)

• 1966 – Bill Carr, American athlete (b. 1909)

• 1966 – Sergei Korolev, Russian rocket scientist (b. 1906)

• 1968 – Dorothea Mackellar, Australian poet (My Country) (b. 1885)

• 1970 – William Feller, Croatian mathematician (b. 1906)

• 1972 – King Frederick IX of Denmark (b. 1899)

• 1976 – Tun Abdul Razak, 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia (b. 1922)

• 1977 – Anthony Eden, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1897)

• 1977 – Peter Finch, English-born actor (b. 1916)

• 1977 – Anaïs Nin, French author (b. 1903)

• 1978 – Harold Abrahams, British athlete (b. 1899)

• 1978 – Kurt Gödel, Austrian mathematician (b. 1906)

• 1978 – Robert Heger, German conductor and composer (b. 1886)

• 1978 – Blossom Rock, American actress (b. 1895)

• 1979 – Thomas DeSimone, gangster associate of the Lucchese crime family (b. 1950)

• 1980 – Robert Ardrey, American author (b. 1908)

• 1981 – John O'Grady, Australian writer (Nino Culotta) (b. 1907)

• 1984 – Ray Kroc, American fast food entrepreneur (b. 1902)

• 1986 – Daniel Balavoine, French singer (b. 1952)

• 1986 – Donna Reed, American actress (b. 1921)

• 1987 – Douglas Sirk, German-U.S. film director (b. 1900)

• 1988 – Georgi Malenkov, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party (b. 1902)

• 1990 – Mani Madhava Chakyar, Koodiyattam artist and Sanskrit scholar (b. 1899)

• 1991 – Gordon Bryant, Australian politician (b. 1914)

• 1995 – Sir Alexander Gibson, Scottish conductor (b. 1926)

• 1997 – Dollard Ménard, French Canadian general (b. 1913)

• 1999 – Jerzy Grotowski, Polish theatre director (b. 1933)

• 2001 – Burkhard Heim, German physicist (b. 1925)

• 2003 – Koloman Sokol, Slovak painter (b. 1902)

• 2004 – Uta Hagen, American actress (b. 1919)

• 2004 – Ron O'Neal, American actor (b. 1937)

• 2004 – Valfar, Norwegian musician (Windir) (b. 1978)

• 2005 – Charlotte MacLeod, American writer (b. 1922)

• 2005 – Conroy Maddox, English painter (b. 1912)

• 2005 – Rudolph Moshammer, German fashion designer (b. 1940)

• 2005 – Jesús-Rafael Soto, Venezuelan kinetic artist (b. 1923)

• 2006 – Henri Colpi, French film editor and director (b. 1921)

• 2006 – Jim Gary, American sculptor (b. 1939)

• 2006 – Mark Philo, English footballer (b. 1984)

• 2006 – Shelley Winters, American actress (b. 1920)

• 2007 – Darlene Conley, American actress (b. 1934)

• 2007 – Barbara Kelly, Canadian-born actress (b. 1924)

• 2008 – Judah Folkman, American medical scientist (b. 1933)

• 2009 – Jan Kaplický, British architect of Czech origin (b. 1937)

• 2009 – Ricardo Montalbán, Mexican actor (b. 1920)

Holidays and observances

• Tamil New Year Tamil New year celebrated by World Tamil Peoples [Tamil Calender->Thai-1]

• Pongal in South India. Harvest Festival for Tamilians. Also celebrated as Makar Sankranti by Kannadigas, Telugaite and North Indians.

• New Year's Day in Eastern Orthodox, see Julian Calendar.

• Makar Sankranti in India. The event is marked by flying kites.

• Feast of Divina Pastora, in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.

• Day of St. Basil the Great in Eastern Orthodoxy, January 1 on the Julian Calendar.

• Festum Asinorum, medieval burlesque festival celebrating the Flight into Egypt.

• Barba'shmin

• Felix of Nola

• Macrina the Elder

• Saint Sava

• January 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)