January 24

Events

Pre-1600

* 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula.
* 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt.
*1438 – The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV.
*1458 – Matthias Corvinus is elected King of Hungary.
*1536 – King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his later erratic behaviour and possible impotence.

1601–1900

*1651 – Arauco War: Spanish and Mapuche authorities meet in the Parliament of Boroa renewing the fragile peace established at the parliaments of Quillín in 1641 and 1647.
* 1679 – King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament.
*1742 – Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
* 1758 – During the Seven Years' War the leading burghers of Königsberg submit to Elizabeth of Russia, thus forming Russian Prussia (until 1763).
*1817 – Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of Juan Gregorio de las Heras are captured during the action of Picheuta.
*1835 – Slaves in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, stage a revolt, which is instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later.
*1848 – California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento.
* 1857 – The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first fully fledged university in South Asia.
*1859 – The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later named Romania) is formed as a personal union under the rule of Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza.
*1900 – Second Boer War: Boers stop a British attempt to break the Siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Spion Kop.

1901–present

* 1908 – The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell.
*1915 – World War I: British Grand Fleet battle cruisers under Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty engage Rear-Admiral Franz von Hipper's battle cruisers in the Battle of Dogger Bank.
*1916 – In '' Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.'', the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.
* 1918 – The Gregorian calendar is introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People's Commissars effective February 14 (New Style).
* 1933 – The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices.
* 1935 – Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company starts selling the first canned beer.
* 1939 – The deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes Chillán, killing approximately 28,000 people.
*1942 – World War II: The Allies bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand, then under Japanese control, to declare war against the United States and United Kingdom.
*1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.
* 1946 – The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.
*1960 – Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as the "barricades week", during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.
*1961 – Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost.
* 1966 – Air India Flight 101 crashes into Mont Blanc.
*1968 – Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launches Operation Coburg against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during wider fighting around Long Bình and Biên Hòa.
*1972 – Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.
*1977 – The Atocha massacre occurs in Madrid during the Spanish transition to democracy.
* 1978 – Soviet satellite Kosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered.
*1984 – Apple Computer places the Macintosh personal computer on sale in the United States.
*1986 – The Voyager 2 space probe makes its closest approach to Uranus.
*1989 – Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, with over 30 known victims, is executed by the electric chair at the Florida State Prison.
*1990 – Japan launches Hiten, the country's first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States.
* 2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
* 2009 – Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France, causing 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies.
* 2011 – At least 35 are killed and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport.
*2018 – Former doctor Larry Nassar is sentenced up to 175 years in prison after being found guilty of using his position to sexually abuse female gymnasts.

Births

Pre-1600

* 76 – Hadrian, Roman emperor (d. 138)
* 1287 – Richard de Bury, English bishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1345)
* 1444 – Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1476)
*1547 – Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Austrian Archduchess (d. 1578)

1601–1900

*1602 – Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland, English politician (d. 1666)
* 1619 – Yamazaki Ansai, Japanese philosopher (d. 1682)
*1643 – Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet and politician, Lord Chamberlain of Great Britain (d. 1706)
*1664 – John Vanbrugh, English architect and dramatist (d. 1726)
*1670 – William Congreve, English playwright and poet (d. 1729)
*1672 – Margrave Albert Frederick of Brandenburg-Schwedt, German Lieutenant General (d. 1731)
*1674 – Thomas Tanner, English bishop (d. 1735)
* 1679 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher and academic (d. 1754)
*1684 – Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, German noble (d. 1737)
* 1705 – Farinelli, Italian castrato singer (d. 1782)
*1709 – Dom Bédos de Celles, French monk and organist (d. 1779)
*1712 – Frederick the Great, Prussian king (d. 1786)
*1732 – Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright and financier (d. 1799)
*1739 – Jean Nicolas Houchard, French General of the French Revolution (d. 1793)
*1746 – Gustav III of Sweden (d. 1792)
*1749 – Charles James Fox, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 1806)
* 1754 – Andrew Ellicott, American soldier and surveyor (d. 1820)
*1761 – Louis Klein, French general (d. 1845)
*1763 – Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron, French-Ukrainian general and politician (d. 1831)
*1776 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German jurist, author, and composer (d. 1822)
*1787 – Christian Ludwig Brehm, German pastor and ornithologist (d. 1864)
* 1804 – Delphine de Girardin, French author (d. 1855)
*1814 – Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, French Crown Princess (d. 1858)
* 1814 – John Colenso, British mathematician (d. 1883)
*1816 – Wilhelm Henzen, German philologist and epigraphist (d. 1887)
*1828 – Ferdinand Cohn, German biologist (d. 1898)
*1829 – Yechiel Michel Epstein, Rabbi and posek (d. 1908)
*1836 – Signe Rink, Greenland-born Danish writer and ethnologist (d. 1909)
* 1843 – Josip Stadler, Croatian archbishop (d. 1918)
*1848 – Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (d. 1916)
*1850 – Hermann Ebbinghaus, German psychologist (d. 1909)
*1853 – Sigbert Josef Maria Ganser, German psychiatrist (d. 1931)
*1856 – Friedrich Grünanger, Transylvanian Hungarian-German architect (d. 1929)
*1858 – Constance Naden, English poet and philosopher (d. 1889)
* 1862 – Edith Wharton, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1937)
*1863 – August Adler, Czech and Austrian mathematician (d. 1923)
* 1864 – Marguerite Durand, French actress, journalist, and activist (d. 1936)
* 1864 – Gaetano Giardino, Italian soldier and Marshal of Italy (d. 1935)
*1866 – Jaan Poska, Estonian lawyer and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1920)
*1869 – Helena Maud Brown Cobb (d. 1922)
*1870 – Herbert Kilpin, English footballer (d. 1916)
* 1871 – Jiří Karásek ze Lvovic, Czech poet, writer and literary critic (d. 1951)
* 1871 – Thomas Jaggar, American volcanologist (d. 1953)
*1872 – Yuly Aykhenvald, Russian literary critic (d. 1928)
* 1872 – Konstantin Bogaevsky, Russian painter (d. 1943)
* 1872 – Morris Travers, English chemist and academic (d. 1961)
*1873 – Dmitry Ushakov – Harold D. Babcock, American astronomer (d. 1968)
* 1882 – Ödön Bodor, Hungarian athlete (d. 1927)
*1886 – Henry King, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
*1887 – Jean-Henri Humbert, French botanist (d. 1967)
*1888 – Vicki Baum, Austrian author and screenwriter (d. 1960)
* 1888 – Ernst Heinkel, German engineer and businessman, founded the Heinkel Aircraft Manufacturing Company (d. 1958)
*1889 – Victor Eftimiu, Romanian poet and playwright (d. 1972)
* 1889 – Charles Hawes, American historian and author (d. 1923)
* 1889 – Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, German general of paratroop forces during World War II (d. 1968)
*1891 – Walter Model, German field marshal (d. 1945)
*1892 – Franz Aigner, Austrian weightlifter (d. 1970)
*1895 – Eugen Roth, German poet and songwriter (d. 1976)
*1897 – Paul Fejos, Hungarian-born American director (d. 1963)
*1899 – Hoyt Vandenberg, U.S. Air Force general (d. 1954)
* 1900 – René Guillot, French writer (d. 1969)

1901–present

*1901 – Harry Calder, South African cricketer (d. 1995)
* 1901 – Cassandre, French painter (d. 1968)
* 1901 – Edward Turner, English engineer (d. 1973)
*1905 – J. Howard Marshall, American lawyer and businessman (d. 1995)
*1906 – Wilfred Jackson, American animator and composer (d. 1988)
*1907 – Ismail Nasiruddin of Terengganu, fourth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (d. 1979)
* 1907 – Maurice Couve de Murville, French soldier and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1999)
* 1907 – Jean Daetwyler, Swiss composer and musician (d. 1994)
*1909 – Martin Lings, English author and scholar (d. 2005)
*1910 – Doris Haddock, American political activist (d. 2010)
* 1912 – Frederick Ashworth, American admiral (d. 2005)
*1913 – Norman Dello Joio, American organist and composer (d. 2008)
* 1913 – Ray Stehr, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1983)
*1915 – Vítězslava Kaprálová, Czech composer and conductor (d. 1940)
* 1915 – Robert Motherwell, American painter and academic (d. 1991)
*1916 – Rafael Caldera, Venezuelan lawyer and politician, 65th President of Venezuela (d. 2009)
* 1916 – Gene Mako, Hungarian-American tennis player and actor (d. 2013)
*1917 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (d. 2012)
* 1917 – Wilhelmus Demarteau, Dutch prelate of the Roman Catholic Church (d. 2012)
* 1918 – Gottfried von Einem, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1996)
* 1918 – Oral Roberts, American evangelist, founded Oral Roberts University and Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association (d. 2009)
*1919 – Coleman Francis, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1973)
* 1919 – Leon Kirchner, American composer and educator (d. 2009)
* 1920 – Jimmy Forrest, American saxophonist (d. 1980)
* 1920 – Jerry Maren, American actor (d. 2018)
*1922 – Daniel Boulanger, French actor and screenwriter (d. 2014)
* 1922 – Neil Franklin, English footballer (d. 1996)
*1925 – Gus Mortson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
* 1925 – Maria Tallchief, American ballerina and actress (d. 2013)
*1926 – Ruth Asawa, American sculptor (d. 2013)
* 1926 – Georges Lautner, French director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
*1927 – Paula Hawkins, American politician (d. 2009)
*1928 – Desmond Morris, English zoologist, ethologist, and painter
* 1928 – Michel Serrault, French actor (d. 2007)
*1930 – Terence Bayler, New Zealand actor (d. 2016)
* 1930 – Mahmoud Farshchian, Iranian-Persian painter and academic
* 1930 – John Romita Sr., American comic book artist
*1931 – Lars Hörmander, Swedish mathematician and academic (d. 2012)
* 1931 – Ib Nørholm, Danish composer and organist (d. 2019)
*1932 – Éliane Radigue, French electronic music composer
* 1933 – Kamran Baghirov, the 12th First Secretary of Azerbaijan Communist Party (d. 2000)
* 1933 – Asim Ferhatović, Bosnian footballer (d. 1987)
*1934 – Leonard Goldberg, American producer (d. 2019)
* 1934 – Stanisław Grochowiak, Polish poet and dramatist (d. 1976)
* 1935 – Eric Ashton, English rugby player and coach (d. 2008)
* 1935 – Shivabalayogi, Indian religious leader (d. 1994)
* 1935 – Bamber Gascoigne, First Host of University Challenge
*1936 – Doug Kershaw, American fiddle player and singer
* 1937 – Trevor Edwards, Welsh footballer
* 1938 – Julius Hemphill, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1995)
* 1939 – Renate Garisch-Culmberger, German shot putter
* 1939 – Ray Stevens, American singer-songwriter and actor
*1940 – Vito Acconci, American designer (d. 2017)
* 1940 – Joachim Gauck, German pastor and politician, 11th President of Germany
* 1941 – Neil Diamond, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1941 – Aaron Neville, American singer
* 1941 – Dan Shechtman, Israeli chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
*1942 – Ingo Friedrich, German Member of the European Parliament
* 1942 – Gary Hart, American wrestler and manager (d. 2008)
*1943 – Peter Struck, German lawyer and politician, 13th German Federal Minister of Defence (d. 2012)
* 1943 – Barry Mealand, English footballer (d. 2013)
* 1943 – Sharon Tate, American model and actress (d. 1969)
* 1943 – Tony Trimmer, English race car driver
* 1943 – Manuel Velázquez, Spanish footballer (d. 2016)
*1944 – David Gerrold, American science fiction screenwriter and author
* 1944 – Gian-Franco Kasper, Swiss ski official (d. 2021)
*1945 – John Garamendi, American football player and politician, 1st United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior
* 1945 – Subhash Ghai, Indian director, producer and screenwriter
* 1945 – Eva Janko, Austrian javelin thrower
* 1946 – Michael Ontkean, Canadian actor
* 1947 – Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian footballer (d. 2012)
* 1947 – Michio Kaku, American physicist and academic
* 1947 – Masashi Ozaki, Japanese baseball player and golfer
* 1947 – Warren Zevon, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
* 1949 – John Belushi, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1982)
* 1949 – Bart Gordon, American lawyer
* 1949 – Nadezhda Ilyina, Russian athlete and mother of Russian tennis player Nadia Petrova (d. 2013)
* 1949 – Rihoko Yoshida, Japanese voice actress
*1950 – Daniel Auteuil, French actor, director, and screenwriter
*1951 – Yakov Smirnoff, Ukrainian-American comedian and actor
*1953 – Yuri Bashmet, Russian violinist, viola player, and conductor
* 1953 – Moon Jae-in, 19th President of South Korea
* 1954 – Jo Gartner, Austrian race car driver (d. 1986)
* 1955 – Jim Montgomery, American swimmer
* 1955 – Alan Sokal, American physicist and author
* 1955 – Lynda Weinman, American businesswoman and author
*1956 – Agus Martowardojo, governor of Bank Indonesia
*1957 – Mark Eaton, American basketball player and sportscaster (d. 2021)
* 1957 – Ade Edmondson, English comedian and musician
*1958 – Kim Eui-kon, Korean wrestler
* 1958 – Jools Holland, English singer-songwriter and pianist
* 1958 – Frank Ullrich, German biathlete
*1959 – Akira Maeda, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and actor
* 1959 – Michel Preud'homme, Belgian footballer and manager
* 1959 – Vic Reeves, English television personality
*1961 – Jorge Barrios, Uruguayan footballer
* 1961 – Guido Buchwald, German footballer and manager
* 1961 – Christa Kinshofer, German ski racer
* 1961 – Nastassja Kinski, German-American actress and producer
* 1961 – William Van Dijck, Belgian runner
*1963 – Arnold Vanderlyde, Dutch boxer
* 1965 – Carlos Saldanha, Brazilian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
* 1965 – Margaret Urlich, New Zealand singer-songwriter
* 1965 – Pagonis Vakalopoulos, Greek footballer and manager
* 1966 – Julie Dreyfus, French actress
* 1966 – Karin Viard, French actress
*1967 – Michael Kiske, German singer
*1968 – Fernando Escartín, Spanish cyclist
* 1968 – Antony Garrett Lisi, American theoretical physicist
* 1968 – Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
* 1968 – Tymerlan Huseynov, Ukrainian footballer
* 1969 – Yoo Ho-jeong, South Korean actress
* 1969 – Carlos Rômulo Gonçalves e Silva, bishop of Montenegro
*1970 – Roberto Bonano, Argentine footballer
* 1970 – Neil Johnson, Zimbabwean cricketer
* 1970 – Matthew Lillard, American actor
* 1971 – José Carlos Fernandez, Bolivian footballer
*1972 – Beth Hart, American blues-rock singer and piano player
* 1974 – Cyril Despres, French rally racer
* 1974 – Ed Helms, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
* 1974 – Melissa Tkautz, Australian actress and singer
* 1974 – Rokia Traoré, Malian singer
*1975 – Gianluca Basile, Italian former professional basketball player
* 1975 – Rónald Gómez, Costa Rican footballer and manager
* 1975 – Reto Hug, Swiss triathlete
* 1975 – Henna Raita, Finnish alpine skier
*1976 – Shae-Lynn Bourne, Canadian ice dancer, coach, and choreographer
* 1976 – Cindy Pieters, Belgian cyclist
*1977 – Andrija Gerić, Serbian volleyball player
* 1977 – Michelle Hunziker, Swiss-Dutch actress, model and singer
* 1978 – Veerle Baetens, Belgian actress and singer
* 1978 – Mark Hildreth, Canadian actor and musician
* 1978 – Kristen Schaal, American actress, voice artist, comedian and writer
*1979 – Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer
* 1979 – Leandro Desábato, Argentinian footballer
* 1979 – Busy Signal, Jamaican dancehall reggae artist
* 1979 – Nik Wallenda, American acrobat
* 1980 – Jofre Mateu, Spanish footballer
* 1980 – Suzy, Portuguese singer
*1981 – Mario Eggimann, Swiss footballer
* 1981 – Zaur Hashimov, Azerbaijani footballer and manager
* 1981 – Elena Kolomina, Kazakhstani cross country skier
* 1982 – Céline Deville, French footballer
* 1982 – Daveed Diggs, American actor, rapper and singer
* 1982 – Claudia Heill, Austrian judoka (d. 2011)
* 1982 – Aitor Hernández, Spanish racing cyclist
*1983 – Davide Biondini, Italian footballer
* 1983 – Wyatt Crockett, New Zealand rugby player
* 1983 – Evgeny Drattsev, Russian swimmer
* 1983 – Craig Horner, Australian actor and musician
* 1983 – Shaun Maloney, Scottish footballer
* 1983 – Scott Speed, American race car driver
* 1984 – Emerse Faé, French-born Ivorian footballer
* 1984 – Yotam Halperin, Israeli basketball player
* 1984 – Jung Jin-sun, South Korean fencer
* 1984 – Scott Kazmir, American baseball player
* 1984 – Paulo Sérgio Moreira Gonçalves, Portuguese footballer
*1985 – Fabiana Claudino, Brazilian volleyball player
* 1985 – Trey Gilder, American basketball player
*1986 – Cristiano Araújo, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
* 1986 – Mohammad Bagheri Motamed, Iranian taekwondo practitioner
* 1986 – Mischa Barton, English-American actress
* 1986 – Vladislav Ivanov, Russian footballer
* 1986 – Michael Kightly, English footballer
* 1986 – Ricky Ullman, Israeli-American actor
* 1986 – Sean McVay, American football coach
*1987 – Wayne Hennessey, Welsh footballer
* 1987 – Luis Suárez, Uruguayan footballer
* 1987 – Davide Valsecchi, Italian racing driver
* 1987 – Kia Vaughn, American born Czech basketball player
* 1987 – Guan Xin, Chinese basketball player
*1988 – Selina Jörg, German snowboarder
*1989 – Serdar Kesimal, Turkish footballer
* 1989 – Gong Lijiao, Chinese shot putter
* 1989 – Ki Sung-yueng, South Korean footballer
*1990 – Mao Abe, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1991 – Zhan Beleniuk, Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler
* 1991 – Tatiana Kashirina, Russian weightlifter
* 1991 – Zé Luís, Cape Verdean footballer
* 1991 – Li Xuerui, Chinese badminton player
* 1992 – Phiwa Nkambule, South African entrepreneur
* 1992 – Felitciano Zschusschen, Curaçao footballer
*1994 – Tommie Hoban, English footballer
*1995 – Dylan Everett, Canadian actor
*1997 – Nirei Fukuzumi, Japanese racer
* 1999 – Vitalie Damașcan, Moldovan footballer
* 2003 – Johnny Orlando, Canadian singer and songwriter
*2012 – Princess Athena of Denmark, younger child of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark

Deaths

Pre-1600

* 41 – Caligula, Roman emperor (b. 12)
* 817 – Pope Stephen IV

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