Events

• 41 – Gaius Caesar (Caligula), known for his eccentricity and cruel despotism, is assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards. Claudius succeeds his nephew.

• 1438 – The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV as Prelate of Ethiopia, arrives at Massawa from Goa.

• 1679 – King Charles II of England disbands Parliament.

• 1742 – Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.

• 1776 – Henry Knox arrives at Cambridge, Massachusetts with the artillery that he has transported from Fort Ticonderoga.

• 1826 – Mississippi College is founded in Clinton, becoming the first college in the state of Mississippi.

• 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 full-fledged university in south Asia.

• 1859 – Political union of Moldavia and Wallachia; Alexandru Ioan Cuza is elected as ruler.

• 1862 – Bucharest 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 introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People's Commissars effective from February 14(NS)

• 1924 – Petrograd, formerly Saint Petersburg, Russia, is renamed Leningrad.

• 1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.

• 1952 – Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor-General of Canada.

• 1961 – 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. One weapon nearly detonates; its uranium core is still 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 km (50,680 miles) of Uranus.

• 1993 – Turkish journalist and writer Uğur Mumcu is assassinated by a car bomb in Ankara.

• 1996 – Polish Premier Jozef Oleksy resigns amid charges that he spied for Moscow.

• 2002 – American journalist Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan.

• 2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.

• 2009 – Pope Benedict XVI rescinds the excommunications of four bishops consecrated without papal consent in 1988 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Births

• 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 – Elizabeth Alexeievna (Louise of Baden), Russian tsarina (d. 1826)

• 1848 – Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (d. 1916)

• 1862 – Edith Wharton, American writer (d. 1937)

• 1864 – Marguerite Durand, French feminist leader (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)

• 1901 – Edward Turner, English motorcycle designer (d. 1973)

• 1901 – Harry Calder, South African cricketer (d. 1995)

• 1902 – E. A. Speiser, American Bible 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 – Granny D, Doris Haddock, American activist

• 1913 – Norman Dello Joio, American composer (d. 2008)

• 1915 – Robert Motherwell, American painter (d. 1991)

• 1916 – Jack Brickhouse, American sports broadcaster (d. 1998)

• 1917 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor

• 1918 – Oral Roberts, American evangelist

• 1919 – Coleman Francis, American film director (d. 1973)

• 1920 – Jerry Maren, American actor

• 1922 – Charles Socarides, American psychiatrist (d. 2005)

• 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)

• 1934 – Stanisław Grochowiak, Polish poet (d. 1976)

• 1935 – Eric Ashton, English rugby league footballer (d. 2008)

• 1936 – Doug Kershaw, American musician

• 1939 – Ray Stevens, American musician

• 1941 – Neil Diamond, American singer

• 1941 – Aaron Neville, American singer

• 1942 – Gary Hart, American professional wrestling manager and wrestler (d. 2008)

• 1943 – Subhash Ghai, Indian film director

• 1943 – Sharon Tate, American actress and Manson murder victim (d. 1969)

• 1943 – Peter Struck, German politician

• 1944 – Klaus Nomi, German singer (d. 1983)

• 1945 – D. Todd Christofferson, LDS apostle

• 1945 – John Garamendi, American politician

• 1946 – Michael Ontkean, Canadian actor

• 1946 – Haji, Canadian actor

• 1947 – Masashi Ozaki, Japanese golfer

• 1947 – Michio Kaku, Japanese-American theoretical physicist

• 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

• 1954 – Jo Gartner, Austrian racing driver (d. 1986)

• 1956 – Hanne Krogh, Norwegian singer (Bobbysocks)

• 1956 – Lounès Matoub, a famous Berber Kabyle singer (d. 1998)

• 1957 – Adrian Edmondson, English comedian

• 1957 – Mark Eaton, American basketball player

• 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 television news correspondent

• 1961 – Guido Buchwald, German football player

• 1961 – Nastassja Kinski, German-born actress

• 1961 – Vince Russo, American writer

• 1961 – William Van Dijck, Belgian athlete

• 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 – Ed Helms, American actor

• 1975 – Rónald Gómez, Costa Rican footballer

• 1976 – Shae-Lynn Bourne, Canadian ice dancer with Victor Kraatz

• 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

• 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)

• 1986 – Mischa Barton, English-born American actress

• 1986 – Raviv Ullman, Israeli-born American actor

• 1988 – Jade Ewen, English singer

• 1989 – Calvin Goldspink, English singer/actor (S Club 8) , (S Club Juniors) , (I Dream)

Deaths

• 41 – Caligula, Emperor of Rome (b. 12)

• 772 – Pope Stephen III (b. 720)

• 1002 – Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 980)

• 1125 – David IV of Georgia (b. 1073)

• 1366 – Alfonso IV of Aragon (b. 1299)

• 1376 – Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, English military leader

• 1473 – Conrad Paumann, German composer

• 1595 – Ferdinand II of Austria (b. 1529)

• 1626 – Samuel Argall, English adventurer and naval officer (b. 1580)

• 1639 – Georg Jenatsch, Swiss politician (b. 1596)

• 1666 – Johann Andreas Herbst, German composer (b. 1588)

• 1709 – George Rooke, English admiral (b. 1650)

• 1769 – François de Chevert, French general (b. 1695)

• 1856 – Rabbi Yechezkel of Kuzmir, Polish Hasidic leader (b. 1775)

• 1877 – Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist (b. 1796)

• 1882 – Levi Boone, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1808)

• 1883 – Friedrich von Flotow, German composer (b. 1812)

• 1895 – Lord Randolph Churchill, British politician (b. 1849)

• 1911 – David Graham Phillips, American journalist and novelist (b. 1867)

• 1918 – George Arthur Crump, Founder of the Pine Valley Golf Club in Clementon NJ (b. 1871)

• 1920 – Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1884)

• 1924 – Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (b. 1894)

• 1932 – Alfred Yarrow, English shipbuilder (b. 1842)

• 1936 – Harry T. Morey, American actor (b. 1873)

• 1939 – Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician and nutritionist (b. 1867)

• 1943 – John Burns, English politician (b. 1858)

• 1948 – Maria Mandel, Camp Leader at Auschwitz (b. 1912)

• 1955 – Ira Hayes, American World War II hero (b. 1923)

• 1960 – Arthur Murray Chisholm, author of Western fiction.

• 1960 – Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (b. 1886)

• 1961 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American swimmer and inventor (b. 1884)

• 1962 – Stanley Lord, captain of the SS Californian the night of the Titanic disaster (b. 1877)

• 1962 – André Lhote, french painter.

• 1965 – Winston Churchill, soldier, politician, historian, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Nobel laureate (b. 1874)

• 1966 – Homi J. Bhabha, Indian physicist (b. 1909)

• 1970 – Caresse Crosby, American poet (b. 1891)

• 1971 – Bill W., American co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (b. 1895)

• 1973 – J. Carrol Naish, American actor (b. 1897)

• 1973 – Masao Ohba, world champion Japanese boxer (b. 1949)

• 1975 – Larry Fine, American actor and comedian (b. 1902)

• 1978 – Herta Oberheuser, German doctor (b. 1911)

• 1980 – Lil Dagover, Dutch-born German actress, (b. 1887)

• 1982 – Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian president and dictator (b. 1918)

• 1983 – George Cukor, American film director (b. 1899)

• 1986 – L. Ron Hubbard, American writer and founder of Scientology (b. 1911)

• 1986 – Flo Hyman, American volleyball player (b. 1954)

• 1986 – Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (b. 1921)

• 1988 – Werner Fenchel, German mathematician (b. 1905)

• 1989 – Ted Bundy, American serial killer (b. 1946)

• 1989 – George Knudson, Canadian golfer (b. 1937)

• 1990 – Madge Bellamy, American actress (b. 1899)

• 1991 – John M. Kelly, Irish politician and academic (b. 1931)

• 1992 – Ken Darby, American composer, arranger and conductor (b. 1909)

• 1992 – Ricky Ray Rector, American murderer (b. 1950)

• 1993 – Thurgood Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1908)

• 1993 – Uğur Mumcu, Turkish journalist and writer (b. 1942)

• 1994 – Yves Navarre, French writer (b. 1940)

• 1998 – Walter D. Edmonds, American author (b. 1903)

• 2000 – Bobby Duncum, Jr., American professional wrestler (b. 1965)

• 2002 – Peter Gzowski, Canadian broadcaster, writer and reporter (b. 1934)

• 2002 – Elie Hobeika, Lebanese Forces militia commander (b. 1956)

• 2003 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian auto executive (b. 1921)

• 2004 – Leônidas da Silva, Brazilian footballer (b. 1913)

• 2005 – June Bronhill, Australian singer (b. 1929)

• 2005 – Vladimir Savchenko, Ukrainian writer (b. 1933)

• 2005 – Chalkie White, English rugby union coach (b. 1929)

• 2006 – Fayard Nicholas, American tap dancer, one-half of The Nicholas Brothers (b. 1914)

• 2006 – Schafik Handal, Salvadoran politician (b. 1930)

• 2006 – Chris Penn, American actor (b. 1965)

• 2007 – Krystyna Feldman, Polish actress (b. 1916)

• 2007 – Guadalupe Larriva, Ecuadorian politician (b. 1956)

• 2007 – Emiliano Mercado del Toro, World's Oldest Military Veteran (b. 1891)

• 2008 – Randy Salerno, co-anchor of Chicago's CBS 2 News (b. 1963)

• 2009 – Reg Gutteridge, British Boxing Journalist (b. 1924)

• 2009 – Kay Yow, North Carolina State Univ. women's basketball head coach (b. 1942)

• 2009 – Gérard Blanc, French singer (b. 1947)

Holidays and observances

• Roman Empire – first day of the Sementivae in honor of Ceres and Terra

• Roman Catholic Church – Feasts of St. Francis de Sales and Our Lady of Peace

• January 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Wales – Saint Cadoc