Events

• 27 BC – The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate.

• 550 – Gothic War (535–552): The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison.

• 1120 – The Council of Nablus is held, establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.

• 1362 – A storm tide in the North Sea destroys the German city of Rungholt on the island of Strand.

• 1412 – The Medici family is appointed official banker of the Papacy.

• 1492 – The first grammar of the Spanish language, is presented to Queen Isabella I.

• 1547 – Ivan IV of Russia aka Ivan the Terrible becomes Tsar of Russia.

• 1556 – Philip II becomes King of Spain.

• 1572 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk is tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England.

• 1581 – The English Parliament outlaws Roman Catholicism.

• 1605 – The first edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes is published in Madrid.

• 1707 – The Scottish Parliament ratifies the Act of Union, paving the way for the creation of Great Britain.

• 1761 – The British capture Pondicherry, India from the French.

• 1777 – Vermont declares its independence from New York.

• 1780 – American Revolution: Battle of Cape St. Vincent.

• 1809 – Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of La Coruña.

• 1847 – John C. Fremont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory.

• 1878 – Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) – Battle of Plovdiv: Captain Burago with a squadron of Russian Imperial army dragoons liberates Plovdiv from Ottoman rule.

• 1883 – The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil Service, is passed.

• 1896 – Defeat of Cymru Fydd at South Wales Liberal Federation AGM, Newport, Monmouthshire.

• 1900 – The United States Senate accepts the Anglo-German treaty of 1899 in which the United Kingdom renounces its claims to the Samoan islands.

• 1909 – Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole.

• 1919 – Temperance movement: The United States ratifies the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, authorizing Prohibition in the United States one year after ratification.

• 1942 – Crash of TWA Flight 3, killing all 22 aboard, including film star Carole Lombard.

• 1945 – Adolf Hitler moves into his underground bunker, the so-called Führerbunker.

• 1956 – President Gamal Abdal Nasser of Egypt vows to reconquer Palestine.

• 1968 – The Youth International Party is founded.

• 1969 – Czech student Jan Palach commits suicide by self-immolation in Prague, in protest against the Soviets' crushing of the Prague Spring the year before.

• 1970 – Buckminster Fuller receives the Gold Medal award from the American Institute of Architects.

• 1979 – The Shah of Iran flees Iran with his family and relocates to Egypt.

• 1986 – First meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force.

• 1991 – The United States goes to war with Iraq, beginning the Gulf War (U.S. Time).

• 1992 – El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City ending a 12-year civil war that claimed at least 75,000 and Andy Candy was born!

• 2001 – The First surviving wikipedia edit is made: UuU

• 2001 – Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is assassinated by one of his own bodyguards.

• 2001 – US President Bill Clinton awards former President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service in the Spanish-American War.

• 2002 – The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and the remaining members of the Taliban.

• 2003 – The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.

• 2006 – Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia's new president. She becomes Africa's first female elected head of state.

Births

• 1245 – Edmund Crouchback, son of Henry III of England (d. 1296)

• 1409 – René I of Naples (d. 1480)

• 1477 – Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (d. 1547)

• 1501 – Anthony Denny, confidant of King Henry VIII of England (d. 1559)

• 1616 – François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort, French soldier (d. 1669)

• 1626 – Lucas Achtschellinck, Flemish painter (d. 1699)

• 1634 – Dorthe Engelbrechtsdatter, Norwegian poet (d. 1716)

• 1675 – Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French writer (d. 1755)

• 1728 – Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer (d. 1800)

• 1807 – Charles Henry Davis, American Civil War Admiral (d. 1877)

• 1815 – Henry W. Halleck, American Civil War general (d. 1872)

• 1821 – John C. Breckinridge, U.S. Vice-President and Confederate general (d. 1875)

• 1834 – Robert R. Hitt, American politician (d. 1906)

• 1836 – King Francis II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1894)

• 1838 – Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (d. 1917)

• 1844 – Ismail Qemali, Albanian nationalist (d. 1919)

• 1853 – Andre Michelin, French industrialist (d. 1931)

• 1853 – Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson, English actor and theatre manager (d. 1937)

• 1853 – Gen Sir Ian Hamilton, British military commander (d. 1947)

• 1853 – Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov, Russian philosopher (d. 1900)

• 1872 – Edward Gordon Craig, English actor, producer, director and scenic designer (d. 1966)

• 1872 – Henri Busser, French composer (d. 1973)

• 1874 – Robert W. Service, Canadian poet (d. 1958)

• 1875 – Leonor Michaelis, German enzyme kinetic theorist (d. 1947)

• 1878 – Harry Carey, American silent film actor (d. 1947)

• 1885 – Zhou Zuoren, Chinese writer (d. 1967)

• 1886 – John Hamilton, American actor (d. 1958)

• 1888 – Osip Brik, Russian writer (d. 1945)

• 1893 – Daisy Kennedy, Australian violinist (d. 1981)

• 1894 – Irving Mills, American jazz music publisher (d. 1985)

• 1895 – Nat Schachner, American author (d. 1955)

• 1896 – Ruth Rose, American screenwriter (d. 1978)

• 1897 – Carlos Pellicer, Mexican poet (d. 1977)

• 1898 – Margaret Booth, American film editor (d. 2002)

• 1898 – Irving Rapper, UK-US film director (d. 1999)

• 1901 – Fulgencio Batista, Cuban leader (d. 1973)

• 1901 – Frank Zamboni, American inventor (d. 1988)

• 1902 – Eric Liddell, Scottish runner (d. 1945)

• 1903 – William Grover-Williams, English-French racing driver and WWII resistance fighter (d. 1945)

• 1905 – Ernesto Halffter, Spanish composer and conductor (d. 1989)

• 1906 – Diana Wynyard, British actress (d. 1964)

• 1907 – Alexander Knox, Canadian actor (d. 1995)

• 1907 – Paul Nitze, American government official (d. 2004)

• 1908 – Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (d. 1984)

• 1908 – Günther Prien, German World War II submarine captain (d. 1941)

• 1910 – Dizzy Dean, American baseball player (d. 1974)

• 1911 – Roger Lapébie, French cyclist (d. 1996)

• 1911 – Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean politician (d. 1982)

• 1914 – Roger Wagner, American choral musician (d. 1992)

• 1915 – Leslie H. Martinson, American television and film director.

• 1916 – Philip Lucock, Australian politician and Presbyterian minister (d. 1996)

• 1917 – Carl Karcher, founded the Carl's Jr. hamburger chain (d. 2008)

• 1918 – Nel Benschop, Dutch poet (d. 2005)

• 1918 – Clem Jones, Australian Lord Mayor of Brisbane (d. 2007)

• 1918 – Stirling Silliphant, American writer (d. 1996)

• 1920 – Alberto Crespo, Argentine racing driver (d. 1991)

• 1921 – Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (d. 2004)

• 1922 – Ernesto Bonino, Italian singer (d. 2008)

• 1923 – Gene Feist, American stage actor and producer

• 1923 – Anthony Hecht, American poet (d. 2004)

• 1924 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (d. 2002)

• 1928 – Pilar Lorengar, Spanish soprano (d. 1996)

• 1928 – William Kennedy, American author

• 1930 – Clarence Ray Allen, American murderer (d. 2006)

• 1930 – Norman Podhoretz, US writer, foreign policy adviser

• 1931 – Johannes Rau, German politician (d. 2006)

• 1932 – Dian Fossey, American zoologist (d. 1985)

• 1933 – Susan Sontag, American writer (d. 2004)

• 1934 – Marilyn Horne, American opera singer

• 1935 – A.J. Foyt, American race car driver and team owner

• 1937 – Lorraine Bayly, Australian actress

• 1937 – Luiz Bueno, Brazilian racing driver

• 1938 – Jô Soares, Brazilian author, musician and TV personality

• 1942 – René Angélil, Canadian music executive

• 1942 – Barbara Lynn, American singer

• 1943 – Gavin Bryars, English composer and double bassist

• 1943 – Brian Ferneyhough, British composer

• 1944 – Jim Stafford, American singer and songwriter

• 1946 – Kabir Bedi, Indian actor

• 1946 – Ronnie Milsap, American singer and songwriter

• 1946 – Katia Ricciarelli, Italian soprano

• 1947 – Magdalen Nabb, British author (d. 2007)

• 1947 – Harvey Proctor, British politician

• 1947 – Dr. Laura Schlessinger, American radio talk show host

• 1948 – John Carpenter, American film director

• 1948 – Dalvanius Prime, New Zealand entertainer (d. 2002)

• 1948 – Ruth Reichl, American magazine editor

• 1948 – Cliff Thorburn, Canadian snooker player

• 1949 – Andrew Refshauge, Australian politician, Deputy Premier of New South Wales

• 1950 – Debbie Allen, American dancer and choreographer

• 1950 – Brian Castro, Australian author

• 1950 – Damo Suzuki, Japanese singer (Can)

• 1950 – Caroline Munro, British actress

• 1951 – Glenn Ordway, American radio talk show host

• 1952 – King Fuad II of Egypt

• 1952 – L. Blaine Hammond, NASA astronaut

• 1953 – Robert Jay Mathews, American neo-Nazi (d. 1984)

• 1955 – Jerry M. Linenger, NASA astronaut

• 1956 – Jennifer Dale, Canadian actress

• 1956 – Martin Jol, Dutch football manager

• 1956 – Ivan Safronov, Russian journalist (d. 2007)

• 1958 – Anatoli Boukreev, Russian climber (d. 1997)

• 1958 – Lena Ek, Swedish politician

• 1959 – Juanita Bynum, American televangelist

• 1959 – Sade, Nigerian-born singer

• 1961 – Paul Raven, English musician (Killing Joke) (d. 2007)

• 1961 – Jill Sobule, American singer-songwriter

• 1962 – Joel Fitzgibbon, Australian politician

• 1962 – Paul Webb, British musician (Talk Talk, .O.rang)

• 1962 – Tracey Moore, voice actress

• 1963 – James May, English television presenter

• 1965 – Maxine Jones, American singer (En Vogue)

• 1968 – David Chokachi, American actor

• 1969 – Dead, Swedish black metal vocalist (Mayhem) (d. 1991)

• 1969 – Roy Jones Jr., American boxer

• 1969 – Neil Back, England rugby player

• 1970 – Garth Ennis, Irish comic book author

• 1970 – Brendan O'Hare, Scottish drummer (Teenage Fanclub, Telstar Ponies)

• 1970 – Ron Villone, American baseball player

• 1971 – Sergi Bruguera, Spanish tennis player

• 1972 – Ruben Bagger, Danish footballer

• 1972 – Ang Christou, Australian rules footballer

• 1972 – Dameon Clarke, Canadian actor

• 1972 – Yuri Drozdov, Russian footballer

• 1972 – Ezra Hendrickson, Vincentian footballer

• 1972 – Salah Hissou, Moroccan long-distance runner

• 1972 – Joe Horn, American football player

• 1972 – Richard T. Jones, American actor

• 1972 – Greg Page, Australian musician and actor

• 1972 – Alen Peternac, Croatian footballer

• 1973 – Josie Davis, American actress

• 1974 – Marlon Anderson, American baseball player

• 1974 – Kate Moss, English model

• 1975 – Greg Strause, American visual effects creator

• 1975 – Gillian Iliana Waters, American actress

• 1976 – Viktor Maslov, Russian racing driver

• 1976 – Martina Moravcová, Slovak female swimmer

• 1977 – Ariel Zeevi, Israeli judoka

• 1977 – Jeff Foster, American basketball player

• 1978 – Alfredo Amézaga, Mexican baseball player

• 1979 – Aaliyah, American singer (d. 2001)

• 1979 – Brenden Morrow, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1979 – Jason Ward, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1980 – Seydou Keita, Malian footballer

• 1980 – Lin Manuel Miranda, American actor, composer, lyricist (In The Heights)

• 1980 – Albert Pujols, Dominican-born baseball player

• 1980 – Michelle Wild, Hungarian model

• 1981 – Nick Valensi, American guitarist (The Strokes)

• 1981 – Bobby Zamora, English footballer

• 1982 – Samuel Preston, British singer (The Ordinary Boys)

• 1982 – Tuncay Şanlı, Turkish footballer

• 1983 – Emanuel Pogatetz, Austrian footballer

• 1984 – Stephan Lichtsteiner, Swiss footballer

• 1984 – Jared Slingerland, Canadian musician

• 1985 – Jonathan Richter, Danish footballer

• 1985 – Joe Flacco, American football player

• 1986 – Paula Pareto, Argentine judoka

• 1987 – Lauren McAvoy, British fashion model

• 1988 – Nicklas Bendtner, Danish footballer

• 1989 – Yvonne Zima, American actress

Deaths

• 960 – Polyeuctus, Patriarch of Constantinople

• 1387 – Elizabeth of Bosnia, Hungarian queen and regent (b. 1340)

• 1400 – John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, English politician (b. 1352)

• 1545 – George Spalatin, German reformer (b. 1484)

• 1547 – Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (b. 1477)

• 1554 – Christiern Pedersen, Danish humanist (b. 1480)

• 1585 – Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln, English admiral (b. 1512)

• 1659 – Charles Annibal Fabrot, French lawyer (b. 1580)

• 1710 – Emperor Higashiyama of Japan (b. 1675)

• 1711 – Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Ceylon (b. 1651)

• 1747 – Barthold Heinrich Brockes, German poet (b. 1680)

• 1748 – Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch classical scholar (b. 1684)

• 1750 – Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshall (b. 1667)

• 1752 – Francis Blomefield, English topographer (b. 1705)

• 1794 – Edward Gibbon, English historian (b. 1737)

• 1809 – John Moore, British general (b. 1761)

• 1817 – Alexander J. Dallas, American statesman (b. 1759)

• 1826 – Lindley Murray, grammarian (b. 1745)

• 1834 – Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician (b. 1769)

• 1856 – Thaddeus William Harris, American naturalist (b. 1795)

• 1864 – Anton Schindler, Austrian biographer of Beethoven (b. 1795)

• 1865 – Edmond François Valentin About, French writer (b. 1828)

• 1879 – Octave Crémazie, French Canadian poet (b. 1827)

• 1886 – Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian opera composer (b. 1834)

• 1891 – Léo Delibes, French composer (b. 1836)

• 1898 – Charles Pelham Villiers, British Member of Parliament (b. 1802)

• 1901 – Jules Barbier, French opera librettist (b. 1825)

• 1901 – Arnold Böcklin, Swiss painter (b. 1827)

• 1901 – Hiram Revels, first African-American to serve in the U. S. Senate (b. 1822)

• 1906 – Marshall Field, American entrepreneur (b. 1834)

• 1917 – George Dewey, American admiral (b. 1837)

• 1919 – Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, President of Brazil (b. 1848)

• 1920 – Reginald De Koven, American music critic and operetta composer (b. 1859)

• 1924 – Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald, Scottish philanthropist (b. 1859)

• 1935 – Ma Barker, American criminal (b. 1871)

• 1936 – Albert Fish, American serial killer (b. 1870)

• 1942 – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria (b. 1850)

• 1942 – Carole Lombard, American actress (b. 1908)

• 1957 – 1st Earl of Athlone, British royal, brother of Queen Mary (b. 1874)

• 1957 – Arturo Toscanini, Italian conductor (b. 1867)

• 1962 – Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor (b. 1883)

• 1962 – Frank Hurley, Australian photographer (b. 1885)

• 1963 – Ike Quebec, American tenor-saxophone player (b. 1918)

• 1967 – Robert J. Van de Graaff, American nuclear physicist (b. 1901)

• 1968 – Bob Jones, Sr, American evangelist (b. 1883)

• 1969 – Vernon Duke, American composer and songwriter (b. 1903)

• 1969 – Jan Palach, Czech political protester (b. 1948)

• 1971 – Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (b. 1890)

• 1972 – Teller Ammons, American politician (b. 1895)

• 1972 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. (David Seville), American actor (b. 1919)

• 1979 – Ted Cassidy, American actor (b. 1932)

• 1979 – August Heissmeyer, German SS officer (b. 1897)

• 1981 – Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908)

• 1982 – Red Smith, American sports columnist (b. 1905)

• 1985 – Robert Fitzgerald, American poet and translator (b. 1910)

• 1986 – Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author, and publisher (b. 1892)

• 1987 – Bertram Wainer, Australian pro-abortion campaigner (b. 1928)

• 1988 – Andrija Artuković, Croatian war criminal (b. 1899)

• 1988 – Ballard Berkeley, English actor (b. 1904)

• 1989 – Prem Nazir, Malayalam actor (b. 1926)

• 1993 – Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Icelandic strength athlete (b. 1960)

• 1993 – Glenn Corbett, American actor (b. 1930)

• 1995 – Eric Mottram, English poet, teacher, critic, and editor (b. 1924)

• 1996 – Marcia Davenport, American author and music critic (b. 1903)

• 1997 – Ennis Cosby, son of entertainer Bill Cosby (b. 1969)

• 1998 – Dimitris Horn, Greek actor (b. 1921)

• 1999 – Jim McClelland, Australian solicitor and politician (b. 1915)

• 2000 – Will "Dub" Jones, American singer (The Coasters) (b. 1928)

• 2000 – John Morris Rankin, Canadian musical entertainer (b. 1959)

• 2001 – Laurent-Désiré Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1939)

• 2001 – Auberon Waugh, British author and journalist (b. 1939)

• 2002 – Michael Bilandic, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)

• 2002 – Robert Hanbury Brown, British astronomer and physicist (b. 1916)

• 2002 – Bobo Olson, American boxer (b. 1928)

• 2002 – Eddie Meduza, Swedish composer (b. 1948)

• 2002 – Ron Taylor, American actor (b. 1952)

• 2003 – Richard Wainwright, English politician (b. 1918)

• 2004 – Kalevi Sorsa, Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1930)

• 2005 – Marjorie Williams, American journalist (b. 1958)

• 2006 – Stanley Biber, American surgeon (b. 1923)

• 2007 – Ron Carey, American actor (b. 1935)

• 2007 – Benny Parsons, American racecar driver and commentator (b. 1941)

• 2009 – Joe Erskine, American boxer and long distance runner (b. 1930)

• 2009 – John Mortimer, British barrister, screenwriter and author. (b. 1923)

• 2009 – Andrew Wyeth, American realist painter (b. 1917)

Holidays and observances

• Teacher's Day in Thailand

• National Religious Freedom Day in the United States, to commemorate the adoption of Thomas Jefferson's landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786

• Berard of Carbio

• Saint Fursey

• Honoratus of Arles

• January 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)