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Pre-1600

* 30 BC – After the successful invasion of Egypt, Octavian executes Marcus Antonius Antyllus, the eldest son of
Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...
, and Caesarion, the last king of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt and only child of
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
and Cleopatra. * 79Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on the feast day of Vulcan, the
Roman god Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the Latin literature, literature and Roman art, visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these ...
of fire. * 476Odoacer, chieftain of the Germanic tribes ( Herulic – Scirian '' foederati''), is proclaimed ''rex Italiae'' ("
King of Italy King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...
") by his troops. * 1244Siege of Jerusalem: The city's citadel, the Tower of David, surrenders to the Khwarazmiyya. * 1268 – The Battle of Tagliacozzo marks the fall of the
Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...
family from the Imperial and Sicilian thrones, and leading to the new chapter of Angevin domination in Southern Italy. * 1328Battle of Cassel: French troops stop an uprising of Flemish farmers. * 1382Siege of Moscow: The Golden Horde led by Tokhtamysh lays siege to the capital of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. * 1514 – The Battle of Chaldiran ends with a decisive victory for the Sultan Selim I,
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, over the Shah Ismail I, founder of the Safavid dynasty. * 1521Christian II of Denmark is deposed as king of Sweden and Gustav Vasa is elected
regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
. * 1541 – French explorer
Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier (; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French maritime explorer from Brittany. Jacques Cartier was the first Europeans, European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, wh ...
lands near
Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
in his third voyage to Canada. * 1572
French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...
: Mob violence against thousands of
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
s in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
results in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. * 1595
Long Turkish War The Long Turkish War (, ), Long War (; , ), or Thirteen Years' War was an indecisive land war between the Holy Roman Empire (primarily the Habsburg monarchy) and the Ottoman Empire, primarily over the principalities of Wallachia, Transylvania, ...
: Wallachian prince
Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593–1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Transylvani ...
confronts the Ottoman army in the Battle of Călugăreni and achieves a tactical victory. *
1600 In the Gregorian calendar, it was the first century leap year and the last until the year 2000. Events January–March * January 1 – Scotland adopts January 1 as New Year's Day instead of March 25. * January 20 – Hugh O'Neill, Earl of ...
Battle of Gifu Castle The took place in September 1600 that led to the destruction of Gifu Castle in Gifu, Gifu, Gifu, Mino Province (modern-day Gifu Prefecture), Japan. The battle served as a prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara the following month. It pitted Oda Hid ...
: The eastern forces of
Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...
defeat the western Japanese clans loyal to
Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who united all of Japan toward the end of the Sengoku period. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga. Early life Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's sec ...
, leading to the destruction of Gifu Castle and serving as a prelude to the
Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...
.


1601–1900

*
1628 Events January–March * January 19 – (26 Jumada al-Awwal 1037 Islamic calendar, A.H.) The reign of Shahryar Mirza, Salef-ud-din Muhammad Shahryar as the Mughal Emperor, Shahryar Mirza, comes to an end a little more than tw ...
George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham, is assassinated by John Felton. *
1655 Events January–March * January 5 – Emperor Go-Sai ascends to the throne of Japan. * January 7 – Pope Innocent X, leader of the Roman Catholic Church and the Papal States, dies after more than 10 years of rule. * Febr ...
Battle of Sobota: The
Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire or the Great Power era () was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic regi ...
led by
Charles X Gustav Charles X Gustav, also Carl X Gustav (; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Kleeburg, John Casimir, Count Palatine of Palatinate-Kleeburg, Zweib ...
defeats the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
. *
1703 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Thursday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 9 – The Jamaican town of Port Royal, a center of trade ...
Edirne event: Sultan Mustafa II of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
is dethroned. *
1775 Events Summary The American Revolutionary War began this year, with the first military engagement on April 19 Battles of Lexington and Concord on the day after Paul Revere's ride. The Second Continental Congress took various steps tow ...
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
: King
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
delivers his
Proclamation of Rebellion The Proclamation of Rebellion, officially titled A Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition, was the response of George III of Great Britain, George III to the news of the Battle of Bunker Hill at the outset of the American Revolution ...
to the
Court of St James's The Court of St James's serves as the official royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The court formally receives all ambassadors accredited to the United Kingdom. Likewise, ambassadors representing the United Kingdom are formally ...
stating that the American colonies have proceeded to a state of open and avowed rebellion. *
1782 Events January–March * January 7 – The first American commercial bank (Bank of North America) opens. * January 15 – Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris (financier), Robert Morris goes before the United States Con ...
– British forces under
Edward Despard Edward Marcus Despard (175121 February 1803), an Irish officer in the service of the British Crown, gained notoriety as a colonial administrator for refusing to recognise race as a distinction in English law and, following his recall to London, ...
complete the reconquest of the Black River settlements on the
Mosquito Coast The Mosquito Coast, also known as Mosquitia, is a historical and Cultural area, geo-cultural region along the western shore of the Caribbean Sea in Central America, traditionally described as extending from Cabo Camarón, Cape Camarón to the C ...
from the Spanish. * 1784 – Western
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
(now eastern
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
) declares itself an independent state under the name of Franklin; it is not accepted into the United States, and only lasts for four years. *
1799 Events January–March * January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars. * January ...
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
leaves
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
for
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
''en route'' to seizing power. * 1813 – At the
Battle of Großbeeren The Battle of Großbeeren occurred on 23 August 1813 in neighboring Blankenfelde-Mahlow, Blankenfelde and between the Prussian III Corps (German Empire), III Corps under Friedrich von Bülow and the Franco-Saxon VII Corps (Grande Armée), ...
, the Prussians under Von Bülow repulse the French army. * 1831Nat Turner's
rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
of enslaved Virginians is suppressed. *
1839 Events January–March * January 2 – The first photograph of the Moon is taken, by French photographer Louis Daguerre. * January 6 – Night of the Big Wind: Ireland is struck by the most damaging cyclone in 300 years. * January 9 – ...
– The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a base as it prepares for the
First Opium War The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...
with
Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty ...
. *
1864 Events January * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song "Beautiful Dream ...
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
: The Union Navy captures Fort Morgan, Alabama, thus breaking Confederate dominance of all ports on the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
except
Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...
. *
1866 Events January * January 1 ** Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee. ** The last issue of the abolitionist magazine '' The Liberator'' is published. * January 6 – Ottoman troops clash ...
– The
Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...
ends with the Treaty of Prague. *
1873 Events January * January 1 ** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar. ** The California Penal Code goes into effect. * January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defeat the Unit ...
– The Albert Bridge in
Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...
opens. *
1898 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queen ...
– The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departs from London.


1901–present

*
1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...
– The automobile tire chain is patented. *
1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
: The British Expeditionary Force and the French Fifth Army begin their
Great Retreat The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western F ...
before the German Army. * 1914 – World War I: Japan declares war on Germany. *
1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...
– British airship R-38 experiences structural failure over Hull in England and crashes in the
Humber Estuary The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...
; of her 49 British and American training crew, only four survive. *
1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Lowell Smith and
Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
John P. Richter perform the first mid-air refueling on De Havilland DH-4B, setting an endurance flight record of 37 hours. *
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...
– Italian anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti are executed after a lengthy, controversial trial. * 1929Hebron Massacre during the 1929 Palestine riots:
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
attacks on the Jewish community in
Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...
in the British Mandate of Palestine occur, continuing until the next day, resulting in the death of 65–68 Jews and the remaining Jews being forced to leave the city. *
1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
:
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
sign the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...
. In a secret protocol to the pact,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
,
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
,
Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
,
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
,
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
, and
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
are divided into German and Soviet "spheres of influence". *
1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...
– World War II: Beginning of the
Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...
. *
1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...
– World War II:
Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.
is liberated by the Soviet
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
for the second time after the
Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...
. *
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...
– World War II:
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
is liberated by the Allied forces. * 1944 – World War II: King Michael of Romania dismisses the pro-
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
government of Marshal Antonescu, who is later arrested.
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
switches sides from the
Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...
to the Allies. * 1944 – Freckleton air disaster: A
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...
bomber crashes into a school in Freckleton, England, killing 61 people. *
1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...
– World War II:
Soviet–Japanese War The Soviet–Japanese War)Known in Mongolia as the Liberation War of 1945 () was a campaign of the Second World War that began with the Soviet invasion of Manchuria following the Soviet declaration of war against Japan on 8 August 1945. The ...
: The USSR State Defense Committee issues Decree no. 9898cc "About Receiving, Accommodation, and Labor Utilization of the Japanese Army Prisoners of War". *
1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...
Ordinance No. 46 of the British Military Government constitutes the German '' Länder'' (states) of
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
and
Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...
. *
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
– The
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...
is formed by 147 churches from 44 countries. *
1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...
– The first flight of the Lockheed C-130 multi-role aircraft takes place. *1954 – The Cruise of the Kings, a royal cruise organised by the Queen Consort of Greece, Frederica of Hanover, departs from Marseille, France. * 1958
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...
: The
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also known as the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC). The PRC shelled the islands of Kinmen (Quemoy) and the Matsu Is ...
begins with the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...
's bombardment of Quemoy. *
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
Lunar Orbiter 1 The 1966 Lunar Orbiter 1 robotic spacecraft mission, part of NASA's Lunar Orbiter program, was the first American spacecraft to orbit the Moon. It was designed primarily to photograph smooth areas of the lunar surface for selection and verific ...
takes the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
. *
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
– Organized by
Mexican American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexico, Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the Unite ...
labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
leader
César Chávez Cesario Estrada Chavez (; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta and lesser known Gilbert Padilla, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), ...
, the Salad Bowl strike, the largest farm worker
strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...
in U.S. history, begins. *
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
– A bank robbery gone wrong in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, Sweden, turns into a hostage crisis; over the next five days the hostages begin to sympathise with their captors, leading to the term "
Stockholm syndrome Stockholm syndrome is a proposed condition or theory that tries to explain why hostages sometimes develop a psychological bond with their captors. Emotional bonds can possibly form between captors and captives, during intimate time together, ...
". *
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
– The start of the Wave Hill walk-off by Gurindji people in Australia, lasting eight years, a landmark event in the history of
Indigenous land rights in Australia In Australia, Indigenous land rights or Aboriginal land rights are the rights and interests in land of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people; the term may also include the struggle for those rights. Connection to the land and ...
, commemorated in a 1991 Paul Kelly song and an annual celebration. * 1975 – The
Pontiac Silverdome The Pontiac Silverdome (also known as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, the fi ...
opens in
Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...
, northwest of
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
,
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
*
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
Hans Tiedge, top counter-spy of West Germany, defects to
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
. *
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
Singing Revolution The Singing Revolution was a series of events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence of the three Soviet-occupied Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at the end of the Cold War. The term was coined by a ...
: Two million people from
Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
,
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
and
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
stand on the
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
road, holding hands. *
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
appears on
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
i state television with a number of
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
"guests" (actually hostages) to try to prevent the
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
. * 1990 –
Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
declares its independence from the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. * 1990 – West and East Germany announce that they will reunite on October 3. *
1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
– The
World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is an information system that enables Content (media), content sharing over the Internet through user-friendly ways meant to appeal to users beyond Information technology, IT specialists and hobbyis ...
is opened to the public. *
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
Eugene Bullard, the only
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
pilot in World War I, is posthumously commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
. *
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
Gulf Air Flight 072 Gulf Air Flight 072 (GF072/GFA072) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Cairo International Airport in Egypt to Bahrain International Airport in Bahrain, operated by Gulf Air. On 23 August 2000 at 19:30Arabia Standard Time (UTC+03 ...
crashes into the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
near Manama, Bahrain, killing 143. *
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
Natascha Kampusch Natascha Maria Kampusch (born 17 February 1988) is an Austrian author and former talk show host. At the age of 10, on 2 March 1998, she was Child abduction, abducted and held in a secret cellar by her kidnapper Wolfgang Přiklopil for more than ...
, who had been abducted at the age of ten, escapes from her captor Wolfgang Přiklopil, after eight years of captivity. *
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
– The skeletal remains of Russia's last royal family members
Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia Alexei Nikolaevich (; – 17 July 1918) was the last Russian tsesarevich (heir apparent). He was the youngest child and only son of Nicholas II, Tsar Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse), Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. He was bor ...
, and his sister Grand Duchess Anastasia are discovered near
Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...
, Russia. *
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
– The
Manila hostage crisis The Manila hostage crisis, officially known as the Rizal Park hostage-taking incident (), took place when a disgruntled former Philippine National Police officer named Rolando Mendoza hijacked a tourist bus in Rizal Park, Manila, Philippines, ...
occurred near the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, Philippines killing 9 people including the perpetrator while injuring 9 others. *
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
– A magnitude 5.8 (class: moderate)
earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
occurs in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. Damage occurs to monuments and structures in Washington, D.C. and the resulted damage is estimated at 200 million–300 million USD. * 2011 – Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...
is overthrown after the
National Transitional Council The National Transitional Council (NTC) was a transitional government established in the 2011 Libyan civil war. After rebel forces overthrew the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya of Muammar Gaddafi in August 2011, the NTC governed Libya for a further ...
forces take control of Bab al-Azizia compound during the Libyan Civil War. *
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
– A hot-air balloon crashes near the Slovenian capital of
Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...
, killing six people and injuring 28 others. *
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
– A
riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...
at the Palmasola prison complex in Santa Cruz, Bolivia kills 31 people. *
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
Chandrayaan-3 Chandrayaan-3 ( ) is the third mission in the Chandrayaan programme, a series of Exploration of the Moon, lunar-exploration missions developed by the ISRO, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The mission consists of a Chandrayaan-2#Vikra ...
mission initiated first Moon landing in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n history. *2023 – A business jet carrying key leadership members of the Russian private military company
Wagner Group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...
crashes, killing all ten people on board.


Births


Pre-1600

* 1482Jo Gwang-jo, Korean philosopher (died 1520) *
1486 Year 1486 ( MCDLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday. Events January–December * January 18 – King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York are married, uniting the House of Lancaster and the House of York, after th ...
Sigismund von Herberstein Siegmund (Sigismund) Freiherr von Herberstein (or Baron Sigismund von Herberstein; 23 August 1486 – 28 March 1566) was a Carniolan diplomat, writer, historian and member of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Council. He was most noted for his exten ...
, Slovenian historian and diplomat (died 1566) * 1498
Miguel da Paz, Prince of Portugal Miguel da Paz, Hereditary Prince of Portugal and Prince of Asturias and Girona (, ; , "Michael of Peace") (23 August 1498 – 19 July 1500) was a Portuguese royal prince, son of King Manuel I of Portugal and his first wife, Isabella of Arago ...
(died 1500) * 1524François Hotman, French lawyer and jurist (died 1590) * 1579Thomas Dempster, Scottish scholar and historian (died 1625)


1601–1900

* 1623Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish astronomer, theologian, and historian (died 1675) * 1724Abraham Yates Jr., American lawyer and civil servant (died 1796) *
1741 Events January–March * January 13 ** Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township. ** Conventicle Act of 1741 is introduced in Denmark-Norway. *February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain ...
Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse Commodore (rank), Commodore Jean François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse (; 23 August 1741 – ) was a French Navy officer and explorer. Having enlisted in the Navy at the age of 15, he had a successful career and in 1785 was appointed to lea ...
, French admiral and explorer (died 1788) * 1754
Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
of France (died 1793) * 1768Astley Cooper, British surgeon and anatomist (died 1841) *
1769 Events January–March * February 2 – Pope Clement XIII dies, the night before preparing an order to dissolve the Jesuits.Denis De Lucca, ''Jesuits and Fortifications: The Contribution of the Jesuits to Military Architecture ...
Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...
, French biologist and academic (died 1832) *
1783 Events January–March * January 20 – At Versailles, Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain signs preliminary peace treaties with the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of Spain. * January 23 – The Confederation Congress ...
William Tierney Clark, English engineer, designed the Hammersmith Bridge (died 1852) *
1785 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Burmese Konbaung Dynasty annexes the Mrauk U Kingdom of Arakan. ** The first issue of the '' Daily Universal Register'', later known as ''The Times'', is published in London. * January 7 &nd ...
Oliver Hazard Perry, American commander (died 1819) *
1800 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 18), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 12 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 16), ...
Evangelos Zappas Evangelos or Evangelis Zappas (23 August 1800 – 19 June 1865) was a Greek philanthropist and businessman who is recognized today as one of the founders of the modern Olympic Games, which were held in 1859, 1870, 1875, and 1888 and preceded t ...
, Greek patriot, philanthropist, and businessman (died 1865) *
1805 After thirteen years the First French Empire abolished the French Republican Calendar in favour of the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 11 – The Michigan Territory is created. * February 7 – King Anouvong become ...
Anton von Schmerling, Austrian judge and politician (died 1893) *
1814 Events January * January 1 – War of the Sixth Coalition – The Royal Prussian Army led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher crosses the Rhine. * January 3 ** War of the Sixth Coalition – Siege of Cattaro: French gar ...
James Roosevelt Bayley, American archbishop (died 1877) *
1829 Events January–March * January 19 – August Klingemann's adaptation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's '' Faust'' premieres in Braunschweig. * February 27 – Battle of Tarqui: Troops of Gran Colombia and Peru battle to a draw. * Marc ...
Moritz Cantor Moritz Benedikt Cantor (23 August 1829 – 10 April 1920) was a German historian of mathematics. Biography Cantor was born at Mannheim. He came from a Sephardi Jewish family that had emigrated to the Netherlands from Portugal, another branch ...
, German mathematician and historian (died 1920) *
1843 Events January–March * January 3 – The '' Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms'' (海國圖志, ''Hǎiguó Túzhì'') compiled by Wei Yuan and others, the first significant Chinese work on the West, is published in China. * J ...
William Southam, Canadian publisher (died 1932) *
1846 Events January–March * January 5 – The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Country with the United Kingdom. * January 13 – The Milan–Venice railway's bridge, over the Venetian Lagoon betwee ...
Alexander Milne Calder Alexander Milne Calder (August 23, 1846 – June 4, 1923) (MILL-nee) was a Scottish American sculptor best known for the architectural sculpture of Philadelphia City Hall. Both his son, Alexander Stirling Calder, and grandson, Alexander Calder ...
, Scottish-American sculptor (died 1923) * 1847Sarah Frances Whiting, American physicist and astronomer (died 1927) *
1849 Events January–March * January 1 – France begins issue of the Ceres series (France), Ceres series, the nation's first postage stamps. * January 5 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: The Austrian army, led by Alfred I, Prince of Windisc ...
William Ernest Henley, English poet and critic (died 1903) *
1850 Events January–March * January 29 – Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the United States Congress. * January 31 – The University of Rochester is founded in Rochester, New York. * January – Sacramento, Ca ...
John Cockburn, Scottish-Australian politician, 18th
Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier i ...
(died 1929) * 1852Radha Gobinda Kar, Indian physician and philanthropist (died 1918) * 1852 – Clímaco Calderón, Colombian lawyer and politician, 15th
President of Colombia The president of Colombia (President of the Republic) is the head of state and head of government of Colombia. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of Colombia, national government and is the commander-in-chief of the Mil ...
(died 1913) * 1852 – Arnold Toynbee, English economist and historian (died 1883) * 1854Moritz Moszkowski, Polish-German pianist and composer (died 1925) *
1864 Events January * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song "Beautiful Dream ...
Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos (, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Cretan State, Cretan Greeks, Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. As the leader of the Liberal Party (Greece), Liberal Party, Venizelos ser ...
, Greek lawyer, jurist, and politician, 93rd
Prime Minister of Greece The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic (), usually referred to as the prime minister of Greece (), is the head of government of the Greece, Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Cabinet of Greece, Greek Cabinet. The officeholder's of ...
(died 1936) *
1867 There were only 354 days this year in the newly purchased territory of Alaska. When the territory transferred from the Russian Empire to the United States, the calendric transition from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar was made with only 1 ...
Edgar de Wahl Edgar von Wahl (Interlingue: , born Edgar Alexis Robert von Wahl; 23 August 1867 – 9 March 1948) was a Baltic German mathematics and physics teacher who lived in Tallinn, Estonia. He also used the pseudonym Julian Prorók, and is best know ...
, Ukrainian-Estonian linguist and academic (died 1948) * 1868Edgar Lee Masters, American lawyer, author, poet, and playwright (died 1950) *
1872 Events January * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. *January 20 – The Cavite mutiny was an uprising of Filipino military personnel of Fort S ...
Tanguturi Prakasam Tanguturi Prakasam popularly known as Prakasam Pantulu (23 August 1872 – 20 May 1957), was an Indian jurist, political leader, social reformer, and anti-colonial nationalist who served as the Premier of the Madras Presidency. Prakasam subseq ...
, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Andhra (died 1957) *
1875 Events January * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the year (Third C ...
William Eccles, English physicist and engineer (died 1966) * 1875 –
Eugene Lanceray Yevgeny Yevgenyevich Lanceray (; – 13 September 1946), also often spelled Eugene Lansere, was a Russian graphic artist, painter, sculptor, mosaicist, and illustrator, associated stylistically with ''Mir iskusstva'' ("World of Art").Scholl, T ...
, Russian painter and sculptor (died 1946) *
1877 Events January * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India by the Royal Titles Act 1876, introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great Sioux War of 1876: Batt ...
István Medgyaszay, Hungarian architect and academic (died 1959) *
1880 Events January *January 27 – Thomas Edison is granted a patent for the incandescent light bulb. Edison filed for a US patent for an electric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires." gr ...
Alexander Grin Aleksandr Stepanovich Grinevsky (better known by his pen name, Aleksander Green / Grin (spelling varies in non-Russian literature), rus, Александр Грин, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɡrʲin, a=Ru-Aleksandr Grin.ogg, 23 August 1880 – 8 July 1 ...
, Russian sailor and author (died 1932) * 1882Volin, Russia anarchist intellectual (died 1945) *
1883 Events January * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * January 16 – ...
Jonathan M. Wainwright, American general,
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
recipient (died 1953) *
1884 Events January * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London to promote gradualist social progress. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera '' Princess Ida'', a satire on feminism, premières at the Savoy The ...
Will Cuppy, American author and critic (died 1949) * 1884 – Ogden L. Mills, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 50th
United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
(died 1937) *
1890 Events January * January 1 – The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony in the Horn of Africa. * January 2 – Alice Sanger becomes the first female staffer in the White House. * January 11 – 1890 British Ultimatum: The Uni ...
Harry Frank Guggenheim, American businessman and publisher, co-founded ''
Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...
'' (died 1971) * 1891Roy Agnew, Australian pianist and composer (died 1944) * 1891 – Minna Craucher, Finnish socialite and spy (died 1932) * 1894John Auden, English solicitor, deputy coroner and a territorial soldier (died 1959) *
1897 Events January * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a punitive expedit ...
Henry F. Pringle, American historian and journalist (died 1958) *
1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...
Frances Adaskin, Canadian pianist (died 2001) * 1900 – Ernst Krenek, Austrian-American composer and educator (died 1991) * 1900 – Malvina Reynolds, American singer-songwriter and activist (died 1978)


1901–present

* 1901Guy Bush, American baseball player and manager (died 1985) * 1901 – John Sherman Cooper, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 2nd United States Ambassador to East Germany (died 1991) *
1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...
William Primrose William Primrose (23 August 19041 May 1982) was a Scottish violist and teacher. He performed with the London String Quartet from 1930 to 1935. He then joined the NBC Symphony Orchestra where he formed the Primrose Quartet. He performed in v ...
, Scottish viola player and educator (died 1982) * 1905Ernie Bushmiller, American cartoonist (died 1982) * 1905 – Constant Lambert, English composer and conductor (died 1951) *
1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...
Zoltan Sarosy, Hungarian-Canadian chess master (died 2017) * 1908Hannah Frank, Scottish sculptor and illustrator (died 2008) * 1909
Syd Buller John Sydney Buller (23 August 1909 – 7 August 1970) was an English first-class cricketer and international umpire. He was a wicket-keeper. Playing career Buller was born in Wortley near Leeds in Yorkshire. As a player, he was a competent ...
, English cricketer and umpire (died 1970) *
1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...
Lonny Frey, American baseball player and soldier (died 2009) * 1910 – Giuseppe Meazza, Italian footballer and manager (died 1979) *
1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...
Betty Robinson, American sprinter (died 1999) * 1911 – J.V. Cunningham, American poet, literary critic, and translator (died 1985) *
1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...
Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...
, American actor, singer, and dancer (died 1996) * 1912 – Igor Troubetzkoy, Russian aristocrat and race car driver (died 2008) *
1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...
Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the younge ...
, American swing singer and bandleader (died 1993) *
1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...
Tex Williams Sollie Paul "Tex" Williams (August 23, 1917 – October 11, 1985) was an American Western swing musician. He is best known for his talking blues style; his biggest hit was the novelty song, "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)", which held th ...
, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1985) *
1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...
Vladimir Abramovich Rokhlin, Azerbaijani mathematician and theorist (died 1984) *
1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...
Kenneth Arrow Kenneth Joseph Arrow (August 23, 1921 – February 21, 2017) was an American economist, mathematician and political theorist. He received the John Bates Clark Medal in 1957, and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1972, along with ...
, American economist and academic,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
laureate (died 2017) * 1921 – Sam Cook, English cricketer and umpire (died 1996) * 1922Nazik Al-Malaika, Iraqi poet and academic (died 2007) * 1922 – Jean Darling, American actress and singer (died 2015) * 1922 –
George Kell George Clyde Kell (August 23, 1922 – March 24, 2009) was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1943 to 1957, most prominently as a member of the D ...
, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 2009) * 1924Ephraim Kishon, Israeli author, screenwriter, and director (died 2005) *1924 – Madeleine Riffaud, French poet, journalist and Resistance member (died 2024) * 1924 –
Robert Solow Robert Merton Solow, GCIH (; August 23, 1924 – December 21, 2023) was an American economist who received the 1987 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, and whose work on the theory of economic growth culminated in the exogenous growth ...
, American economist and academic,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
laureate (died 2023) *
1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...
Robert Mulligan Robert Patrick Mulligan (August 23, 1925 – December 20, 2008) was an American director and producer. He is best known for his sensitive dramas, including ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962), '' Summer of '42'' (1971), '' The Other'' (1972), '' Sam ...
, American director and producer (died 2008) *
1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...
Clifford Geertz Clifford James Geertz (; August 23, 1926 – October 30, 2006) was an American anthropologist who is remembered mostly for his strong support for and influence on the practice of symbolic anthropology and who was considered "for three decades&n ...
, American anthropologist and academic (died 2006) * 1926 – Gyula Hernádi, Hungarian author and screenwriter (died 2005) *
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...
Dick Bruna, Dutch author and illustrator (died 2017) * 1927 –
Allan Kaprow Allan Kaprow (August 23, 1927 – April 5, 2006) was an American performance artist, installation artist, painter, and assemblagist . He helped to develop the " Environment" and "Happening" in the late 1950s and 1960s, as well as their theory. ...
, American painter and author (died 2006) * 1927 – Martial Solal, Algerian-French pianist and composer (died 2024) *
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...
Marian Seldes Marian Hall Seldes (August 23, 1928 – October 6, 2014) was an American actress. A five-time Tony Award nominee, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for '' A Delicate Balance'' in 1967, and received subsequent nominations ...
, American actress (died 2014) * 1929
Vladimir Beekman Vladimir Beekman (23 August 1929 – 3 October 2009) was an Estonian writer, poet and translator. Early life and education After completing his primary education, he attended the Tallinn University of Technology and graduated in 1953 with a degre ...
, Estonian poet and translator (died 2009) * 1929 – Zoltán Czibor, Hungarian footballer (died 1997) * 1929 – Peter Thomson, Australian golfer (died 2018) * 1930
Michel Rocard Michel Rocard (; 23 August 1930 – 2 July 2016) was a French politician and a member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party (PS). He served as Prime Minister of France, Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1988 to 199 ...
, French civil servant and politician, 160th
Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (), officially the prime minister of the French Republic (''Premier ministre de la République française''), is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of its Council of Ministers. The prime ...
(died 2016) * 1930 – Vera Miles, American actress *
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress and singer, who starred as the title character in the sitcom ''I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965–1970). Her other roles included Roslyn Pierce opposite Elvis Presley in ...
, American actress and singer * 1931 – Hamilton O. Smith, American microbiologist and academic,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
laureate *
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
Houari Boumediene Houari is a given name and surname. It may refer to: Persons Given name *Houari Boumédiène, also transcribed Boumediene, Boumedienne etc. (1932–1978), served as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of Algeria from 19 June 1965 until 12 Decembe ...
, Algerian colonel and politician, 2nd
President of Algeria The president of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (, ) is the head of state and chief executive of Algeria, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Algerian People's National Armed Forces. The current president is Abdelmadjid Tebbo ...
(died 1978) * 1932 – Enos Nkala, Zimbabwean soldier and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Defence (died 2013) * 1932 – Mark Russell, American comedian and pianist (died 2023) *
1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...
Robert Curl, American chemist,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
laureate (died 2022) * 1933 – Don Talbot, Australian swim coach and administrator (died 2020) * 1933 –
Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Wilson previously served as a United S ...
, American commander and politician, 36th
Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...
*
1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
Sonny Jurgensen, American football player and sportscaster *
1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...
– Roy Strong, English historian, curator, and author *1936 – Rudy Lewis, American R&B singer (died 1964) * 1936 – Henry Lee Lucas, American murderer (died 2001) *1938 – Giacomo Bini, Italian priest and missionary (died 2014) * 1938 – Roger Greenaway, English singer-songwriter and producer *1940 – Galen Rowell, American mountaineer and photographer (died 2002) * 1940 – Richard Sanders (actor), Richard Sanders, American actor and screenwriter *1941 – Onora O'Neill, Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve, British philosopher, academic, and politician *
1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...
– Nancy Richey, American tennis player *
1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...
– Dale Campbell-Savours, Baron Campbell-Savours, English businessman and politician * 1943 – Nelson DeMille, American lieutenant and author (died 2024) * 1943 – Peter Lilley, English politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills * 1943 – Pino Presti, Italian bass player, composer, conductor, and producer *1943 – Rodney Alcala, American serial killer, rapist, and kidnapper (died 2021) *
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...
– Antonia Novello, Puerto Rican-American physician and admiral, 14th Surgeon General of the United States *
1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...
– Rayfield Wright, American football player and coach (died 2022) *
1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...
– Keith Moon, English drummer, songwriter, and producer (died 1978) *1947 – David Robb, Scottish actor * 1947 – Willy Russell, English playwright and composer * 1947 – Linda Thompson (singer), Linda Thompson, English folk-rock singer-songwriter *
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
– Atef Bseiso, Palestinian intelligence officer (died 1992) * 1948 – Andrei Pleșu, Romanian journalist and politician, 95th Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Romania), Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs * 1948 – Rudy Ruettiger, American football player * 1948 – Lev Zeleny, Russian physicist and academic *1949 – Vicky Leandros, Greek singer and politician * 1949 – Shelley Long, American actress * 1949 – Rick Springfield, Australian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor *1950 – Luigi Delneri, Italian footballer and manager *1951 – Mark Hudson (musician), Mark Hudson, American record producer and musician * 1951 – Jimi Jamison, American singer-songwriter and musician (died 2014) * 1951 – Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechen cleric and politician, 1st President of the Chechen Republic (died 2004) * 1951 – Queen Noor of Jordan *1952 – Santillana (footballer), Santillana, Spanish footballer * 1952 – Georgios Paraschos, Greek footballer and manager *1953 – Bobby G, English singer-songwriter *
1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...
– Charles Busch, American actor and screenwriter * 1954 – Halimah Yacob, Singaporean unionist and politician, 9th Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore, Speaker and 8th President of Singapore *1955 – David Learner, British actor *1956 – Andreas Floer, German mathematician and academic (died 1991) * 1956 – Valgerd Svarstad Haugland, Norwegian educator and politician, Minister of Culture (Norway), Norwegian Minister of Culture * 1956 – Skipp Sudduth, American actor *1957 – Tasos Mitropoulos, Greek footballer and politician * 1958 – Julio Franco, Dominican baseball player and manager *1959 – Edwyn Collins, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist * 1959 – George Kalovelonis, Greek tennis player and coach *1960 – Gary Hoey, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer *1961 – Dean DeLeo, American guitarist and songwriter * 1961 – Alexandre Desplat, French composer and conductor * 1961 – Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iranian commander and politician, 54th Mayor of Tehran * 1961 – Gary Mabbutt, English footballer * 1961 – Hitomi Takahashi (actress), Hitomi Takahashi, Japanese actress *1962 – Martin Cauchon, Canadian lawyer and politician, 46th Minister of Justice (Canada), Canadian Minister of Justice * 1962 – Shaun Ryder, English singer-songwriter and actor *1963 – Park Chan-wook, South Korean director, producer, and screenwriter * 1963 – Glória Pires, Brazilian actress * 1963 – Richard Illingworth, English cricketer and umpire * 1963 – Kenny Wallace, American race car driver *1964 – Ray Ferraro, Canadian ice hockey player and broadcaster * 1964 – Kong Hee, Singaporean minister and criminal *1965 – Roger Avary, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter *
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
– Rik Smits, Dutch-American basketball player *1967 – Jim Murphy, Scottish lawyer and politician, Minister of State for Europe * 1967 – Richard Petrie, New Zealand cricketer *1968 – Laura Claycomb, American soprano * 1968 – Chris DiMarco, American golfer * 1968 – Cortez Kennedy, American football player (died 2017) *1969 – Tinus Linee, South African rugby player and coach (died 2014) * 1969 – Jack Lopresti, English soldier and politician * 1969 – Jeremy Schaap, American journalist and author * 1969 – Keith Tyson, English painter and illustrator *
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
– Lawrence Frank, American basketball player and coach * 1970 – Jason Hetherington, Australian rugby league player * 1970 – Jay Mohr, American actor, producer, and screenwriter * 1970 – River Phoenix, American actor (died 1993) *1971 – Demetrio Albertini, Italian footballer and manager * 1971 – Tim Gutberlet, German footballer * 1971 – Gretchen Whitmer, 49th Governor of Michigan *1972 – Mark Butcher, English cricketer and singer * 1972 – Raul Casanova, Puerto Rican-American baseball player * 1972 – Anthony Calvillo, Canadian football player * 1972 – Martin Grainger, English footballer and manager * 1972 – Manuel Vidrio, Mexican footballer, coach, and manager *
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
– Casey Blake, American baseball player * 1973 – Kerry Walmsley, New Zealand cricketer *1974 – Lexi Alexander, American film and television director * 1974 – Mark Bellhorn, American baseball player * 1974 – Benjamin Limo, Kenyan runner * 1974 – Konstantin Novoselov, Russian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate * 1974 – Ray Park, Scottish actor and stuntman *
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
– Eliza Carthy, English folk musician * 1975 – Sean Marks, New Zealand basketball player and manager * 1975 – Jarkko Ruutu, Finnish ice hockey player *1976 – Scott Caan, American actor * 1976 – Pat Garrity, American basketball player and executive *1977 – Douglas Sequeira, Costa Rican footballer and manager * 1977 – Jared Fogle, American spokesman and criminal *1978 – Kobe Bryant, American basketball player and businessman (died 2020) * 1978 – Julian Casablancas, American singer-songwriter and producer * 1978 – Randal Tye Thomas, American journalist and politician (died 2014) * 1978 – Andrew Rannells, American actor and singer *1979 – Jessica Bibby, Australian basketball player * 1979 – Saskia Clark, English sailor * 1979 – Édgar Sosa (boxer), Edgar Sosa, Mexican boxer * 1979 – Zuzana Váleková, Slovak tennis player *1980 – Denny Bautista, Dominican baseball player * 1980 – Nadine Jolie Courtney, American journalist, reality personality and author * 1980 – Joanne Froggatt, English actress * 1980 – Rex Grossman, American football player * 1980 – Nenad Vučković (handballer), Nenad Vučković, Serbian handball player *1981 – Carlos Cuéllar, Spanish footballer * 1981 – Jaime Lee Kirchner, American actress * 1981 – Stephan Loboué, Ivorian footballer *1982 – Natalie Coughlin, American swimmer * 1982 – Scott Palguta, American soccer player * 1982 – Cristian Tudor, Romanian footballer (died 2012) *1983 – James Collins (footballer, born 1983), James Collins, Welsh footballer * 1983 – Athena Farrokhzad, Iranian-Swedish poet, playwright, and critic * 1983 – Sun Mingming, Chinese basketball player * 1983 – Tony Moll, American football player * 1983 – Fiona Onasanya, British politician and criminal * 1983 – Bruno Spengler, Canadian race car driver *1984 – Glen Johnson, English footballer * 1984 – Eric Tai, New Zealand rugby player and actor *
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
– Valeria Lukyanova, Moldovan-Ukrainian model and singer *1986 – Sky Blu (rapper), Sky Blu, American rapper and DJ * 1986 – Neil Cicierega, American comedian and musician * 1986 – Ayron Jones, American musician * 1986 – Brett Morris, Australian rugby league player * 1986 – Josh Morris (rugby), Josh Morris, Australian rugby league player *1987 – Darren Collison, American basketball player *1988 – Olga Govortsova, Belarusian tennis player * 1988 – Carl Hagelin, Swedish ice hockey player * 1988 – Jeremy Lin, American basketball player * 1988 – Kim Matula, American actress * 1988 – Miles Mikolas, American baseball player *
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
– Lianne La Havas, British singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist * 1989 – Trixie Mattel, American drag queen, actor, and country singer * 1989 – Heiko Schwarz, German footballer * 1989 – TeddyLoid, Japanese musician *
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
– Seth Curry, American basketball player * 1990 – Mike Yastrzemski, American baseball player *1992 – Nicola Docherty, Scottish footballer *1993 – Taylor Decker, American football player * 1993 – Tyler Glasnow, American baseball player * 1993 – Iván López (footballer, born 1993), Iván López, Spanish professional footballer *
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
– August Ames, Canadian pornographic actress (died 2017) * 1994 – Jusuf Nurkić, Bosnian basketball player *1995 – Gabriela Lee, Romanian tennis player * 1995 – Cameron Norrie, British tennis player *1997 – Lil Yachty, American rapper and singer *1998 – P. J. Washington, American basketball player *
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
– Boryana Kaleyn, Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast and Olympic silver medalist


Deaths


Pre-1600

* 30 BCCaesarion, Egyptian king (born 47 BC) * 30 BC – Marcus Antonius Antyllus, Roman soldier (born 47 BC) *AD 93, 93 – Gnaeus Julius Agricola, Roman general and politician (born AD 40) * 406 – Radagaisus, Gothic king * 634 – Abu Bakr, Arabian caliph (born 573) * 992 – Volkold, bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Dresden-Meissen, Meissen *1106 – Magnus, Duke of Saxony (born 1045) *1176 – Emperor Rokujō of Japan (born 1164) *1305 – William Wallace, Scottish knight and rebel leader (born c.1270) * 1328 – Nicolaas Zannekin, Flemish peasant leader (in the battle of Cassel) *1329 – Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (born 1282) *1335 – Heilwige Bloemardinne, Christian mystic (born c. 1265) *1348 – John de Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury *1363 – Chen Youliang, founder of the Dahan regime (born 1320) *1367 – Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz, Spanish cardinal (born 1310) *1478 – Johannes Pullois, Franco-Flemish composer (born c. 1420?) *1481 – Thomas de Littleton, English judge and legal author (born c. 1407) * 1498 – Isabella of Aragon, Queen of Portugal, eldest daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon (born 1470) *1507 – Jean Molinet, French poet and composer (born 1435) *1519 – Philibert Berthelier (Geneva patriot), Philibert Berthelier, Swiss soldier (born 1465) *1540 – Guillaume Budé, French philosopher and scholar (born 1467) *1568 – Thomas Wharton, 1st Baron Wharton (born 1495) *1574 – Ebussuud Efendi, Turkish lawyer and jurist (born 1490) *1591 – Luis de León, Spanish poet and academic (born 1527)


1601–1900

*1618 – Gerbrand Adriaenszoon Bredero, Dutch poet and playwright (born 1585) *
1628 Events January–March * January 19 – (26 Jumada al-Awwal 1037 Islamic calendar, A.H.) The reign of Shahryar Mirza, Salef-ud-din Muhammad Shahryar as the Mughal Emperor, Shahryar Mirza, comes to an end a little more than tw ...
– George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (born 1592) *1652 – John Byron, 1st Baron Byron, English soldier and politician (born 1600) *1706 – Edward Nott, English politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (born 1654) *1723 – Increase Mather, American minister and author (born 1639) *1806 – Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, French physicist and engineer (born 1736) * 1813 – Alexander Wilson (ornithologist), Alexander Wilson, Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, and illustrator (born 1766) *1819 – Oliver Hazard Perry, American commander (born 1785) * 1831 – Ferenc Kazinczy, Hungarian author and poet (born 1759) * 1831 – August Neidhardt von Gneisenau, Prussian field marshal (born 1760) *1853 – Alexander Calder (Beaumont, Texas), Alexander Calder, American lawyer and politician (born 1806) *
1867 There were only 354 days this year in the newly purchased territory of Alaska. When the territory transferred from the Russian Empire to the United States, the calendric transition from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar was made with only 1 ...
– Auguste-Marseille Barthélemy, French poet and author (born 1796) *
1880 Events January *January 27 – Thomas Edison is granted a patent for the incandescent light bulb. Edison filed for a US patent for an electric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires." gr ...
– William Thompson (boxer), William Thompson, British boxer (born 1811) *1892 – Deodoro da Fonseca, Brazilian field marshal and politician, 1st President of Brazil (born 1827) *
1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...
– Kuroda Kiyotaka, Japanese general and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Japan (born 1840)


1901–present

* 1924 – Heinrich Berté, Slovak-Austrian composer (born 1856) *
1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...
– Rudolph Valentino, Italian actor (born 1895) *
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...
– Nicola Sacco, Italian anarchist convicted of murder (born 1891) * 1927 – Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian anarchist convicted of murder (born 1888) *
1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...
– Adolf Loos, Austrian architect and theoretician, designed Villa Müller (born 1870) *1937 – Albert Roussel, French composer (born 1869) *
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...
– Abdülmecid II, Ottoman sultan (born 1868) * 1944 – Stefan Filipkiewicz, Polish painter and illustrator (born 1879) *1949 – Helen Churchill Candee, American geographer, journalist, and author (born 1858) *
1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...
– Jaan Sarv, Estonian mathematician and scholar (born 1877) *1960 – Oscar Hammerstein II, American director, producer, and composer (born 1895) *1962 – Walter Anderson (folklorist), Walter Anderson, Russian-German ethnologist and academic (born 1885) * 1962 – Hoot Gibson, American actor, director, and producer (born 1892) *1964 – Edmond Hogan, Australian politician, 30th Premier of Victoria (born 1883) *
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
– Francis X. Bushman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1883) *1967 – Georges Berger, Belgian race car driver (born 1918) * 1967 – Nathaniel Cartmell, American runner and coach (born 1883) *1974 – Roberto Assagioli, Italian psychiatrist and author (born 1888) *
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
– Faruk Gürler, Turkish general (born 1913) *1977 – Naum Gabo, Russian sculptor and academic (born 1890) *1982 – Stanford Moore, American biochemist and academic,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
laureate (born 1913) *1987 – Didier Pironi, French race car and boat driver (born 1952) *
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
– Mohammed Abed Elhai, Sudanese poet and academic (born 1944) * 1989 – R. D. Laing, Scottish psychiatrist and author (born 1927) *
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
– David Rose (songwriter), David Rose, American pianist and composer (born 1910) *
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
– Zoltán Fábri, Hungarian director and screenwriter (born 1917) *1995 – Alfred Eisenstaedt, German-American photographer and journalist (born 1898) *1996 – Margaret Tucker, Australian author and activist (born 1904) *1997 – Eric Gairy, Grenadian educator and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Grenada (born 1922) * 1997 – John Kendrew, English biochemist and crystallographer,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
laureate (born 1917) *1999 – Norman Wexler, American screenwriter (born 1926) * 1999 – James White (author), James White, Irish author (born 1928) *
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
– John Anthony Kaiser, American priest and missionary (born 1932) *2001 – Kathleen Freeman, American actress (born 1919) * 2001 – Peter Maas, American journalist and author (born 1929) *2002 – Hoyt Wilhelm, American baseball player and coach (born 1922) *2003 – Bobby Bonds, American baseball player and manager (born 1946) * 2003 – Jack Dyer, Australian footballer and coach (born 1913) * 2003 – Jan Sedivka, Czech-Australian violinist and educator (born 1917) * 2003 – Michael Kijana Wamalwa, Kenyan lawyer and politician, 8th Vice President of Kenya (born 1944) *2005 – Brock Peters, American actor (born 1927) *
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
– Maynard Ferguson, Canadian trumpet player and bandleader (born 1928) *2008 – John Russell (art critic), John Russell, English-American author and critic (born 1919) *
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
– Jerry Nelson, American puppeteer and voice actor (born 1934) * 2012 – Josepha Sherman, American anthologist and author (born 1946) *
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
– Richard J. Corman, American businessman, founded the R.J. Corman Railroad Group (born 1955) * 2013 – William Glasser, American psychiatrist and author (born 1925) * 2013 – Charles Lisanby, American production designer and set director (born 1924) * 2013 – Konstanty Miodowicz, Polish ethnographer and politician (born 1951) * 2013 – Vesna Rožič, Slovenian chess player (born 1987) * 2013 – Tatyana Zaslavskaya, Russian sociologist and economist (born 1927) *2014 – Albert Ebossé Bodjongo, Cameroonian footballer (born 1989) * 2014 – Annefleur Kalvenhaar, Dutch cyclist (born 1994) * 2014 – Birgitta Stenberg, Swedish author and illustrator (born 1932) * 2014 – Jaume Vallcorba Plana, Spanish philologist and publisher (born 1949) *2015 – Augusta Chiwy, Congolese-Belgian nurse (born 1921) * 2015 – Guy Ligier, French rugby player and race car driver (born 1930) * 2015 – Enrique Reneau, Honduran footballer (born 1971) * 2015 – Paul Royle, Australian lieutenant and pilot (born 1914) *2021 – Elizabeth Blackadder, Scottish painter and printmaker (born 1931) *
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
– Dmitry Utkin, Russian army officer, founder of
Wagner Group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...
(born 1970) * 2023 – Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian businessman, chief of
Wagner Group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...
(born 1961) * 2023 – Terry Funk, American professional wrestler (born 1944)


Holidays and observances

*Days of Military Honour, Battle of Kursk Day (Russia) * Christian feast day: **Ascelina **Asterius, Claudius and Neon, Asterius, Claudius, and Neon **Éogan of Ardstraw **Lupus of Novae, Lupus (Luppus) of Novae **Philip Benitius **Quiriacus of Ostia, Quiriacus and companions, of Ostia **Rose of Lima **Tydfil **Zacchaeus of Jerusalem **August 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) *Day of the National Flag (Ukraine) *European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism or Black Ribbon Day (European Union and other countries), and related observances: **King Michael's Coup, Liberation from Fascist Occupation Day (
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
) *International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition *National Doctors' Day, National Day for Physicians (Iran)


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:August 23 Days of August