Events

• 904 – Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.

• 1676 – Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia.

• 1814 – France defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne.

• 1834 – US President Andrew Jackson orders first use of federal soldiers to suppress a labor dispute.

• 1845 – "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe is published in the New York Evening Mirror.

• 1850 – Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress.

• 1856 – Queen Victoria institutes the Victoria Cross.

• 1861 – Kansas is admitted as the 34th U.S. state.

• 1863 – Bear River Massacre.

• 1886 – Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.

• 1891 – Liliuokalani is proclaimed Queen of Hawaii, its last monarch.

• 1900 – The American League is organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with 8 founding teams.

• 1916 – World War I: Paris is first bombed by German zeppelins.

• 1936 – The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced.

• 1940 – Three trains on the Sakurajima Line, in Osaka, Japan, collide and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi station. 181 people are killed.

• 1943 – The first day of the Battle of Rennell Island, U.S. cruiser Chicago is torpedoed and heavily damaged by Japanese bombers.

• 1944 – the last battleship commissioned by the US Navy is launched.

• 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Cisterna takes place in central Italy.

• 1944 – World War II: Approximately 38 men, women, and children die in the Koniuchy massacre in Poland.

• 1944 – In Bologna, Italy, the Anatomical Theatre of the Archiginnasio is destroyed in an air-raid.

• 1963 – The first inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are announced.

• 1979 – Brenda Spencer kills two people and wounds eight at the Grover Cleveland Elementary School shootings.

• 1989 – Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making them the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so

• 1996 – President Jacques Chirac announces a "definitive end" to French nuclear weapons testing.

• 1996 – La Fenice, Venice's opera house, is destroyed by fire.

• 1998 – In Birmingham, Alabama, a bomb explodes at an abortion clinic, killing one and severely wounding another. Serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph is suspected as the culprit.

• 2001 – Thousands of student protesters in Indonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals.

• 2002 – In his State of the Union Address, United States President George W. Bush describes "regimes that sponsor terror" as an Axis of Evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

• 2005 – The first direct commercial flights from the mainland China (from Guangzhou) to Taiwan since 1949 arrived in Taipei. Shortly afterwards, a China Airlines carrier landed in Beijing.

Births

• 1584 – Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (d. 1647)

• 1632 – Johann Georg Graevius, German classical scholar and critic (d. 1703)

• 1688 – Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish scientist and philosopher (d. 1772)

• 1711 – Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (d. 1788)

• 1715 – Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Austrian composer (d. 1777)

• 1717 – Jeffrey Amherst, British military leader (d. 1797)

• 1718 – Paul Rabaut, French Huguenot pastor (d. 1794)

• 1737 – Thomas Paine, English-born American patriot (d. 1809)

• 1749 – King Christian VII of Denmark (d. 1808)

• 1754 – Moses Cleaveland, founder of Cleveland (d. 1806)

• 1756 – Henry Lee III, American General (d. 1818)

• 1761 – Albert Gallatin, Swiss-American United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1849)

• 1782 – Daniel Auber, French composer (d. 1871)

• 1801 – Horatia Nelson, daughter of Emma Hamilton and Horatio Nelson (d. 1881)

• 1810 – Ernst Kummer, German mathematician (d. 1893)

• 1843 – William McKinley, 25th President of the United States (d. 1901)

• 1846 – Karol Olszewski, Polish scientist (d. 1915)

• 1860 – Anton Chekhov, Russian writer (d. 1904)

• 1862 – Frederick Delius, English composer (d. 1934)

• 1866 – Romain Rolland, French writer, Nobel Laureate (d. 1944)

• 1867 – Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, Spanish writer (d. 1928)

• 1874 – John D. Rockefeller Jr., American entrepreneur (d. 1960)

• 1876 – Havergal Brian, British composer (d. 1972)

• 1877 – Georges Catroux, French general (d. 1969)

• 1880 – W.C. Fields, American actor (d. 1946)

• 1888 – Sydney Chapman, British mathematician and geophysicist (d. 1970)

• 1891 – Elizaveta Gerdt, Russian ballerina (d. 1975)

• 1891 – R. Norris Williams, American survivor of the RMS Titanic sinking (d. 1968)

• 1895 – Muna Lee, American poet (d. 1965)

• 1901 – Allen B. DuMont, American scientist and inventor (d. 1965)

• 1905 – Barnett Newman, American painter (d. 1970)

• 1910 – Colin Middleton, Irish artist (d. 1983)

• 1911 – Peter von Siemens, German industrialist (d. 1986)

• 1913 – Victor Mature, American actor (d. 1999)

• 1913 – Daniel Taradash, American screenwriter (d. 2003)

• 1913 – Peter von Zahn, German journalist and writer (d. 2001)

• 1915 – John Serry, Sr., American musician and arranger (d. 2003)

• 1918 – John Forsythe, American actor

• 1920 – José Luis de Villalonga, Spanish aristocrat (d. 2007)

• 1921 – Anthony George, American actor (d. 2005)

• 1922 – Gerda Steinhoff, Nazi concentration camp supervisor (d. 1946)

• 1923 – Paddy Chayefsky, American writer (d. 1981)

• 1923 – Ivo Robic, Croatian singer and songwriter (d. 2000)

• 1924 – Luigi Nono, Italian composer (d. 1990)

• 1924 – Marcelle Ferron, Quebec painter and stained glass artist (d. 2001)

• 1924 – Peter Voulkos, American artist (d. 2002)

• 1926 – Franco Cerri, Italian musician

• 1926 – Abdus Salam, Pakistani physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1996)

• 1927 – Edward Abbey, American author and environmentalist (d. 1989)

• 1928 – Lee Shau Kee, Hong Kong property developer

• 1930 – Derek Bailey, English guitar virtuoso (d. 2005)

• 1930 – John Junkin, English radio, television and film performer (d. 2006)

• 1932 – Tommy Taylor, English footballer (d. 1958)

• 1932 – George Allen, English footballer

• 1933 – Sacha Distel, French singer and guitarist (d. 2004)

• 1933 – Ron Townson, American singer (The 5th Dimension) (d. 2001)

• 1933 – Paul Sally, American mathematician

• 1933 – Hugo Herrestrup, Danish actor

• 1936 – James Jamerson, American bass guitarist for Motown Records (d. 1983)

• 1939 – Germaine Greer, Australian writer

• 1940 – Katharine Ross, American actress

• 1940 – Kunimitsu Takahashi, Japanese motorcycle racer and racing driver

• 1941 – Robin Morgan, American feminist and activist

• 1942 – Claudine Longet, French singer, dancer and convicted murderer

• 1944 – Andrew Loog Oldham, English rock and roll producer

• 1944 – Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda

• 1944 – Patrick Lipton Robinson, Jamaican judge

• 1945 – Jim Nicholson, Irish politician

• 1945 – Tom Selleck, American actor, screenwriter and film producer

• 1947 – Linda B. Buck, American scientist, Nobel laureate

• 1947 – David Byron, English singer (Uriah Heep) (d. 1985)

• 1947 – Marián Varga, Slovak musician

• 1948 – Cristina Saralegui, American talk-show host

• 1948 – Marc Singer, Canadian-born actor

• 1948 – Pat Kenny, Irish TV presenter & radio host

• 1950 – Ann Jillian, American actress

• 1950 – Jody Scheckter, South African race car driver

• 1951 – Andy Roberts, West Indian cricketer

• 1952 – Tommy Ramone, Hungarian-born musician and record producer (The Ramones)

• 1952 – Rupert Hanley, South African cricketer

• 1953 – Paulin Bordeleau, Quebec ice hockey player

• 1953 – Hwang Woo-Suk, South Korean biomedical scientist

• 1953 – Teresa Teng, Taiwanese singer (d. 1995)

• 1953 – Lynne McGranger, Australian actress

• 1954 – Richard Manitoba, American singer (The Dictators and MC5)

• 1954 – Terry Kinney, American actor

• 1954 – Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host and actress

• 1954 – Doug Risebrough, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and executive

• 1955 – Eddie Jordan, American basketball player and head coach

• 1957 – Grazyna Miller, Italian poet, translator, and journalist

• 1957 – Rino Schreuder, Dutch publisher

• 1960 – Matthew Ashford, American actor

• 1960 – Gia Carangi, American model (d. 1986)

• 1960 – Sean Kerly, English field hockey player

• 1960 – Greg Louganis, American diver

• 1960 – Steve Sax, American baseball player

• 1960 – J. G. Thirlwell, Australian-born musician

• 1962 – Nicholas Turturro, American actor

• 1963 – Bob Holly, American professional wrestler

• 1963 – Monica Horan, American actress

• 1964 – Andre Reed, American football player

• 1964 – Anna Ryder Richardson, British interior designer and television presenter

• 1965 – Dominik Hašek, Czech ice hockey player

• 1965 – Peter Lundgren, Swedish tennis coach

• 1966 – Romário, Brazilian footballer

• 1967 – Cyril Suk, Czech tennis player

• 1967 – Stacey King, American basketball player

• 1968 – Edward Burns, American actor

• 1968 – Susi Erdmann, German bobsledder and luger

• 1968 – Sora Jung, Korean actress

• 1969 – Hyde, Japanese singer (L'Arc-en-Ciel)

• 1970 – Heather Graham, American actress

• 1970 – Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Indian shooter

• 1970 – Jörg Hoffmann, German swimmer

• 1973 – Jason Schmidt, American baseball player

• 1975 – Sara Gilbert, American actress

• 1976 – Chris Castle, American singer-songwriter

• 1976 – Charles Divins, American model and actor

• 1977 – Justin Hartley, American actor

• 1977 – Chaly Jones, Dutch Footballer

• 1978 – Martin Schmitt, German ski jumper

• 1978 – Rob Bironas, American football player

• 1979 – April Scott, American actress and model

• 1979 – Sui Feifei, Chinese basketball player

• 1979 – Andrew Keegan, American actor

• 1979 – Joseph Todd, Arena Football League player

• 1980 – Yael Bar-Zohar, Israeli actress and model

• 1980 – Ivan Klasnić, Croatian football player

• 1981 – Jonny Lang, American musician

• 1981 – Álex Ubago, Spanish musician

• 1981 – Darío Lopilato, Argentine actor

• 1982 – Adam Lambert, American Actor & singer ''

• 1982 – Heidi Mueller, American actress

• 1983 – Nedžad Sinanović, Bosnian basketball player

• 1985 – Athina Onassis, French heiress

• 1985 – Isabel Lucas, Australian actress

• 1985 – Marc Gasol, Spanish basketball player

• 1985 – Todd Herzog, American reality-show contestant

• 1986 – Drew Tyler Bell, American actor

• 1986 – Mark Howard, English football player

• 1986 – Simon Vukčević, Montenegrin football player

• 1986 – Jair Jurrjens, Dutch baseball pitcher

• 1987 – Matthew Wilson, English world rally driver

• 1988 – Stephanie Gilmore, Australian professional surfer

• 1991 – Hugh Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor, Son of the Duke of Westminster

• 1993 – Michelle Larcher De Brito, Portuguese tennis player

Deaths

• 1119 – Pope Gelasius II

• 1240 – Pelagio Galvani, Cardinal-Bishop of Albano (b. c. 1165)

• 1342 – Louis I, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1279)

• 1597 – Elias Ammerbach, German organist (b. 1530)

• 1608 – Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1557)

• 1647 – Francis Meres, English writer (b. 1565)

• 1676 – Tsar Alexis I of Russia (b. 1629)

• 1678 – Jeronimo Lobo, Portuguese Jesuit missionary (b. 1593)

• 1696 – Ivan V, Russian tsar (b. 1666)

• 1706 – Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet and courtier (b. 1638)

• 1737 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, British soldier (b. 1666)

• 1743 – André-Hercule de Fleury, French statesman (b. 1653)

• 1763 – Louis Racine, French poet (b. 1692)

• 1820 – King George III of the United Kingdom (b. 1738)

• 1829 – Paul François Jean Nicolas Barras, French politician (b. 1755)

• 1870 – Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1797)

• 1871 – Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé, French Canadian writer (b. 1786)

• 1899 – Alfred Sisley, British impressionist painter (b. 1839)

• 1901 – King Milan I of Serbia (b. 1855)

• 1906 – King Christian IX of Denmark (b. 1818)

• 1918 – Aleksei Maksimovich Kaledin, Russian-counter revolutionary (b. 1861)

• 1928 – Douglas Haig, British soldier (b. 1861)

• 1933 – Sara Teasdale, American poet (b. 1884)

• 1934 – Fritz Haber, German chemist, Nobel Laureate (b. 1868)

• 1941 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and dictator (b. 1871)

• 1946 – Harry Hopkins, 8th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1890)

• 1948 – Tomislav II of Croatia, 4th Duke of Aosta, Italian aristocrat (b. 1900)

• 1950 – Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1885)

• 1951 – Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer (b. 1880)

• 1956 – H. L. Mencken, American journalist (b. 1880)

• 1961 – John F. O'Ryan, American major general (b. 1874)

• 1962 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian violinist (b. 1875)

• 1963 – Robert Frost, American poet (b. 1874)

• 1964 – Alan Ladd, American actor (b. 1913)

• 1966 – Pierre Mercure, French Canadian composer (b. 1927)

• 1969 – Allen Dulles, American CIA director (b. 1893)

• 1970 – Basil Liddell Hart, British historian (b. 1895)

• 1977 – Buster Nupen, South African cricketer (b. 1902)

• 1977 – Freddie Prinze, American actor and comedian (b. 1954)

• 1980 – Jimmy Durante, American actor and comedian (b. 1893)

• 1986 – Leif Erickson, American actor (b. 1911)

• 1989 – Halina Konopacka, Polish athlete (b. 1900)

• 1991 – Yasushi Inoue, Japanese historian (b. 1907)

• 1992 – Willie Dixon, American composer and musician (b. 1915)

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

• 1994 – Ulrike Maier, Austrian alpine skier (b. 1967)

• 1998 – Joseph Alioto, American politician (b. 1916)

• 1999 – Lili St. Cyr, American dancer (b. 1918)

• 2002 – Dick "Night Train" Lane, American football player (b. 1928)

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

• 2003 – Frank Moss, American politician (b. 1911)

• 2004 – M. M. Kaye, British writer (b. 1908)

• 2004 – Janet Frame, New Zealand writer (b. 1924)

• 2005 – Eric Griffiths, Welsh guitarist (The Quarrymen) (b. 1940)

• 2005 – Ephraim Kishon, Israeli satirist (b. 1924)

• 2007 – Barbaro, American thoroughbred racehorse (b. 2003)

• 2007 – Dia Abdul Zahra Kadim, Iraqi extremist leader (b. 1970)

• 2008 – Raymond Jacobs, American soldier (b. 1925)

• 2008 – Philippe Khorsand, French actor (b. 1948)

• 2008 – Margaret Truman, American writer, daughter of Harry S. Truman (1924)

• 2009 – Hélio Gracie, Brazilian martial artist (b. 1913)

• 2009 – John Martyn, Scottish singer and songwriter (b. 1948)

• 2009 – Bill Frindall, English cricket scorer and statistician (b. 1939)

Holidays and observances

• Roman Catholic saints – Valerius of Trèves, Saint Juniper

• January 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Gibraltar – Constitution Day