Events
Pre-1600
*
823 –
Lothair I
Lothair I (9th. C. Frankish: ''Ludher'' and Medieval Latin: ''Lodharius''; Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario''; 795 – 29 September 855) was a 9th-century emperor of the ...
is crowned
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
Pope Paschal I
Pope Paschal I (; died 824) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 25 January 817 to his death in 824.
Paschal was a member of an aristocratic Roman family. Before his election to the papacy, he was abbot of St. Stephen's monas ...
.
*
919 – The
second Fatimid invasion of
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 ...
begins, when the Fatimid heir-apparent,
al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah, sets out from
Raqqada
Raqqāda () is the site of the second capital of the 9th-century dynasty of Aghlabids, located about ten kilometers southwest of Kairouan, Tunisia. The site now houses the National Museum of Islamic Art.
History
In 876, the ninth Aghlabid emi ...
at the head of his army.
*
1242 – During the
Battle on the Ice
The Battle on the Ice, also known as the Battle of Lake Peipus, took place on 5 April 1242. It was fought on the frozen Lake Peipus when the united forces of the Novgorod Republic, Republic of Novgorod and Vladimir-Suzdal, led by Prince Alexande ...
of
Lake Peipus
Lake Peipus is the largest trans-boundary lake in Europe, lying on the international border between Estonia and Russia.
The lake is the fifth-largest in Europe after Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega (in Russia), Lake Vänern (in Sweden), and Lake ...
,
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
forces, led by
Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (; ; monastic name: ''Aleksiy''; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) was Prince of Novgorod (1236–1240; 1241–1256; 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1249–1263), and Grand Prince of Vladimir (1252–1263).
...
, rebuff an invasion attempt by the
Teutonic Knights
The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...
.
*
1536
Year 1536 ( MDXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–March
*January 6 – The Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, the oldest European school of higher learning in the Americas, is ...
–
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
Kings and Emperors
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
Others
* Charles V, Duke ...
makes a
Royal Entry
The ceremonies and festivities accompanying a formal entry by a ruler or their representative into a city in the Middle Ages and early modern period in Europe were known as the royal entry, triumphal entry, or Joyous Entry. The entry centred on ...
into Rome, demolishing a swath of the city to re-enact a
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph (') was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the success of a military commander who had led Roman forces to victory in the service of the state or, in some historical t ...
.
*
1566
__NOTOC__
Year 1566 (Roman numerals, MDLXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January 7 – Cardinal Michele Ghislieri is 1565–1566 papal conclave, elected as the new Pope ...
– Two hundred
Dutch noblemen, led by
Hendrick van Brederode, force themselves into the presence of
Margaret of Parma
Margaret (; 5 July 1522 – 18 January 1586) was Duchess of Parma from 1547 to 1586 as the wife of Duke Ottavio Farnese and Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1559 to 1567 and from 1578 to 1582. She was the illegitimate daughter of Ch ...
and present the
Petition of Compromise, denouncing the
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...
in the
Seventeen Provinces
The Seventeen Provinces were the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 16th century. They roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e., what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of the France, French Departments of Franc ...
.
1601–1900
*
1614
Events
January–March
* January 22 – Led by Hasekura Tsunenaga, Japan's trade expedition to New Spain (now Mexico) arrives on the Mexican coast with 22 samurai, 120 Japanese merchants, sailors and servants, and 40 Spaniards and Port ...
– 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 ...
,
Native American Pocahontas
Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...
marries English colonist
John Rolfe
John Rolfe ( – March 1622) was an English explorer, farmer and merchant. He is best known for being the husband of Pocahontas and the first settler in the colony of Virginia to successfully cultivate a tobacco crop for export.
He played a ...
.
*
1621
Events
January–March
* January 12 – Şehzade Mehmed, the 15-year old half-brother of Ottoman Sultan Osman II, is put to death by hanging on Osman's orders. Before dying, Mehmed prays aloud that Osman's reign as Sultan be r ...
– The ''
Mayflower
''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...
'' sets sail from
Plymouth, Massachusetts
Plymouth ( ; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklor ...
on a return trip to England.
*
1792
Events
January–March
* January 9 – The Treaty of Jassy ends the Russian Empire's war with the Ottoman Empire over Crimea.
* January 25 – The London Corresponding Society is founded.
* February 18 – Thomas Holcrof ...
– United States President
George Washington
George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
exercises his authority to
veto a bill, the first time this power is used in the United States.
*
1795
Events
January–June
* January – Central England records its coldest ever month, in the CET records dating back to 1659.
* January 14 – The University of North Carolina opens to students at Chapel Hill, becoming the ...
–
Peace of Basel
The Peace of Basel of 1795 consists of three peace treaties involving France during the French Revolution (represented by François de Barthélemy).
*The first was with Prussia (represented by Karl August von Hardenberg) on 5 April;
*The s ...
between France and
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
is made.
*
1818
Events
January–March
* January 1
** Battle of Koregaon: Troops of the British East India Company score a decisive victory over the Maratha Confederacy, Maratha Empire.
** English author Mary Shelley publishes the novel ''Frankenstein ...
– In the
Battle of Maipú
The Battle of Maipú () was fought near Santiago, Chile on 5 April 1818, between South American rebels and Spanish royalists, during the Chilean War of Independence. The Patriot rebels led by Argentine general José de San Martín effectively de ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
's independence movement, led by
Bernardo O'Higgins
Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; 20 August 1778 – 24 October 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque people, Basque-Spanish people, Spani ...
and
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (; 25 February 177817 August 1850), nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru", was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's succe ...
, win a decisive victory over Spain, leaving 2,000 Spaniards and 1,000 Chilean patriots dead.
*
1862
Events
January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom annexes Lagos Island, in modern-day Nigeria.
* January 6 – Second French intervention in Mexico, French intervention in Mexico: Second French Empire, French, Spanish and British ...
–
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
Battle of Yorktown begins.
*
1879
Events January
* January 1
** The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War.
** Brahms' Violin Concerto is premiered in Leipzig with Joseph Joachim ...
–
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
declares war on
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, and Chile declares war on
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, starting the
War of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...
.
1901–present
*
1902 –
A stand box collapses at Ibrox Park (now
Ibrox Stadium
Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Scottish Premiership team Rangers, Ibrox is the third-largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated ca ...
) in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, Scotland, which led to the deaths of 25 and injuries to more than 500 supporters during an international
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
match between
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
*
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 ...
– The
Transandine Railway connecting Chile and Argentina is inaugurated.
*
1922
Events
January
* January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes.
* January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
– The
American Birth Control League
The American Birth Control League (ABCL) was founded by Margaret Sanger in 1921 at the First American Birth Control Conference in New York City. The organization promoted the founding of birth control clinics and encouraged women to control their ...
, forerunner of
Planned Parenthood
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization , is incorporated.
*
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 ...
–
Dominion of Newfoundland
Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the orig ...
:
Ten thousand rioters seize the
Colonial Building leading to the end of self-government.
*
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 ...
– U.S. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
signs two
executive order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...
s: 6101 to establish the
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...
, and
6102 "forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates" by U.S. citizens.
* 1933 –
Andorran Revolution: The
Young Andorrans occupy the
Casa de la Vall
Casa de la Val is a historical house in Andorra la Vella, Andorra. It is former headquarters of the General Council of Andorra. It lies just to the southwest of the Andorra National Library. It is a heritage property registered in the Cultura ...
and force the government to hold
democratic elections with
universal male suffrage
Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the sl ...
.
*
1936
Events January–February
* January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House.
* January 28 – Death and state funer ...
–
Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: An
F5 tornado kills 233 in
Tupelo, Mississippi
Tupelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1860, the population was 37,923 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 7th-most populous ...
.
*
1938
Events
January
* January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS).
* January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...
–
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
: Two days after the
Nationalist army occupied the Catalan city of
Lleida
Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...
, dictator
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...
decrees the abolition of the
Generalitat
Generalitat (, literally in English 'Generality') is the name of two major medieval and early modern political institutions and their modern-day analogues in Kingdom of Spain. The ancient Principality of Catalonia and the Kingdom of Valencia we ...
(the autonomous government of
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
), the
self-government granted by the Republic, and the official status of the
Catalan language
Catalan () is a Western Romance languages, Western Romance language and is the official language of Andorra, and the official language of three autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic I ...
.
*
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
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 ...
:
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
issues Fuhrer Directive No. 41 summarizing
Case Blue
Case Blue (German: ''Fall Blau'') was the ''Wehrmacht'' plan for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942, during World War II. The objective was to capture the oil fields of Baku ( Azerb ...
, including the
German Sixth Army's
planned assault on Stalingrad.
* 1942 – World War II: The
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...
launches
a carrier-based air attack on Colombo,
Ceylon
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
during the
Indian Ocean raid. Port and civilian facilities are damaged and the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
cruisers and are sunk southwest of the island.
*
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:
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 ...
bomber aircraft accidentally cause more than 900 civilian deaths, including 209 children, and 1,300 wounded among the civilian population of the Belgian town of
Mortsel
Mortsel () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city close to the city of Antwerp located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the city of Mortsel pr ...
. Their target was the Erla factory from the residential area hit.
*
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 ...
–
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
:
Yugoslav leader
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
signs an agreement with 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 ...
to allow "temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory".
*
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 ...
–
Soviet
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 ...
troops end their year-long occupation of the Danish island of
Bornholm
Bornholm () is a List of islands of Denmark, Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland.
Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. I ...
.
* 1946 – A
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington (nicknamed the Wimpy) is a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of t ...
crashes into a residential area in
Rabat
Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...
,
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
during a training exercise, killing all 4 crew members and 16 civilians on the ground.
*
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025
* January 2 – Luis ...
– A
fire in a hospital in
Effingham, Illinois
Effingham is a city in Effingham County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is in South Central Illinois. Its population was 12,252 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Effingham micropolitan statistical area.
The ...
, kills 77 people and leads to nationwide fire code improvements in the United States.
*
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...
– Cold War:
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for
spying
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or Confidentiality, confidential information (Intelligence (information), intelligence). A person who commits espionage on ...
for 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 ...
.
*
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...
–
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...
:
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
declares himself at war with
Cuban President Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (born Rubén Zaldívar; January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who played a dominant role in Cuban politics from his initial rise to power as part of the 1933 Revolt of t ...
.
*
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...
–
Ripple Rock, an underwater threat to navigation in the
Seymour Narrows in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
is destroyed in one of the largest non-nuclear controlled explosions of the time.
*
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 ...
– During the
Buddhist Uprising, South Vietnamese Prime Minister
Nguyễn Cao Kỳ personally attempts to lead the capture of the restive city of
Đà Nẵng
Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the list of cities in Vietnam, fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River (Vietnam), Hàn R ...
before backing down.
*
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
– In Sri Lanka,
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; , PLF) is a Marxist–Leninist political party in Sri Lanka. The party was formerly a revolutionary movement and was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 JVP ins ...
launches
a revolt against the
United Front
A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political and/ ...
government of
Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike (; ; ; 17 April 1916 – 10 October 2000), commonly known as Sirimavo Bandaranaike, was a Sri Lankan politician. She was the List of elected and appointed female heads of state and government, world's first fe ...
.
*
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
– ''
Carrie'', the first novel by American author
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
, is
published for the first time with a print run of 30,000 copies.
*
1976
Events January
* January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
– In
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, the
April Fifth Movement leads to the
Tiananmen Incident.
*
1977
Events January
* January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
– The
US Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
rules that congressional legislation that diminished the size of the
Sioux
The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...
people's reservation thereby destroyed the tribe's jurisdictional authority over the area in ''Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. Kneip.''
*
1983
1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
– The
People's Armed Police
)
, abbreviation = PAP ("People's Armed Police") CAPF ("Chinese Armed Police Force"), formerly abbreviated''Wujing'' ( zh , s = 武警 , p = Wǔjǐng , l = Armed Police , labels = no ), or WJ as on vehicle license plates
, patch ...
is officially founded
*
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 ...
– An
ASA EMB 120 crashes in
Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County, Georgia, Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-larges ...
, killing all 23 aboard including
Sen. John Tower and astronaut
Sonny Carter.
*1991 – The
Space shuttle ''Atlantis'' launches on
STS-37
STS-37, the thirty-ninth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the eighth flight of the Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'', was a six-day mission with the primary objective of launching the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO), the second of the Great Observ ...
to deploy the
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) was a space observatory detecting photons with photon energy, energies from 20 kElectronvolt#Properties, eV to 30 GeV, in Earth orbit from 1991 to 2000. The observatory featured four main tel ...
.
*
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
–
Alberto Fujimori
Alberto Kenji Fujimori Fujimori (26 July 1938 – 11 September 2024) was a Peruvian politician, professor, and engineer who served as the 54th president of Peru from 1990 to 2000.*
*
*
*
*
*
* Born in Lima, Fujimori was the country's fir ...
, president of Peru,
dissolves the Peruvian congress by military force.
* 1992 – Peace protesters
Suada Dilberovic and
Olga Sučić are killed on the
Vrbanja Bridge in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
, becoming the first casualties of the
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...
.
*
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
– In
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, the
Akashi Kaikyō Bridge
The is a suspension bridge that links the city of Kobe on the Japanese island of Honshu and on Awaji Island. It is part of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway, and crosses the busy and turbulent Akashi Strait (''Akashi Kaikyō'' in Japanese). ...
opens to traffic, becoming the longest bridge span in the world.
*
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
– Two
Libyans
Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, Ethnic group, ethnicity, and Religion in Libya, religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. All figures are from the Uni ...
suspected of bringing down
Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103 (PA103/PAA103) was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. Shortly after 19:00 on 21 December 1988, the Boeing 747 "Clipper Maid of th ...
in
1988 are handed over for eventual trial in the Netherlands.
*
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
cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...
MS ''Sea Diamond'' strikes a volcanic reef near
Nea Kameni and sinks the next day. Two passengers were never recovered and are presumed dead.
*
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
–
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
launches its controversial
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 satellite. The satellite passed over mainland
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, which prompted an immediate reaction from the
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
, as well as participating states of
Six-party talks
The six-party talks aimed to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.
There was a series of meetings with six participating states in Beijing:
* China
* Japan
* North Korea ...
.
*
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 ...
– Up to 50 people are killed and another 100 injured in two
militant suicide bombings and attacks in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...
province of
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
: the first on an
Awami National Party
The Awami National Party (ANP; , ; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its current president is Aimal Wali Khan, g ...
rally in
Timergara; the second on the
U.S. Consulate in Peshawar.
* 2010 – Twenty-nine coal miners are killed in an explosion at the
Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.
* 2010 –
Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' is launched on
STS-131 to resupply the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
.
*
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
– Agents with the
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the Un ...
raid a
slaughterhouse in Tennessee, detaining nearly 100 undocumented Hispanic workers in one of the largest workplace raids in the history of the United States.
Births
Pre-1600
*
1170
Year 1170 ( MCLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Levant
* Winter – Egyptian forces, led by Saladin, invade the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and besiege Darum on the Mediterranean coast ...
–
Isabella of Hainault (died 1190)
*
1219 –
Wonjong of Goryeo, 24th ruler of
Goryeo
Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...
(died 1274)
*
1279 –
Al-Nuwayri, Egyptian Muslim historian (died 1333)
*
1288 –
Emperor Go-Fushimi of Japan (died 1336)
*
1315 –
James III of Majorca
James III ( – ), known as James the Rash (or the Unfortunate), was King of Majorca from 1324 to 1344. He was the son of Ferdinand of Majorca and Isabella of Sabran.
Life
James was born in Catania, Sicily. Margaret of Villehardouin, Jame ...
(died 1349)
*
1365
Year 1365 ( MCCCLXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.
Events January–December
* March 3 – Battle of Gataskogen: Albert of Mecklenburg defeats and captures Magnus Eriksson, obtaining the throne ...
–
William II, Duke of Bavaria
William II of Bavaria (5 April 1365—31 May 1417) was Duke of Bavaria-Straubing and count of Holland (listed as William VI), Hainaut (listed as William IV) and Zeeland. He ruled from 1404 until 1417, when he died from an infection caused by ...
(died 1417)
*
1472 –
Bianca Maria Sforza
Bianca Maria Sforza (5 April 1472 – 31 December 1510) was Queen of Germany and Empress of the Holy Roman Empire as the third spouse of Maximilian I. She was the eldest legitimate daughter of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza of Milan by his secon ...
, Italian wife of
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...
(died 1510)
*
1521
1521 ( MDXXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar, the 1521st year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 521st year of the 2nd millennium, the 21st year of the 16th century, and the 2nd year o ...
–
Francesco Laparelli, Italian architect (died 1570)
*
1523
Year 1523 (Roman numerals, MDXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January 20 – Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway after the nobles of the ...
–
Blaise de Vigenère, French cryptographer and diplomat (died 1596)
*
1533
Year 1533 ( MDXXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January 25 – King Henry VIII of England formally but secretly marries Anne Boleyn, who becomes his second queen cons ...
–
Giulio della Rovere, Italian Catholic Cardinal (died 1578)
*
1539
__NOTOC__
Year 1539 ( MDXXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January 4 – Giannandrea Giustiniani Longo is elected two a two year term as Doge of the Republic of Genoa ...
–
George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (died 1603)
*
1549 –
Princess Elizabeth of Sweden (died 1597)
*
1568
Year 1568 ( MDLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January 6 – In the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, the delegates of Unio Trium Nationum to the Diet of Torda convene i ...
–
Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...
(died 1644)
*
1588
Events
January–March
* January 22 – Pope Sixtus V issues the papal bull '' Immensa aeterni Dei'', a major reorganization of the Roman Curia creating 15 congregations of cardinals, including the Congregation of the ''Index ...
–
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was an English philosopher, best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan (Hobbes book), Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered t ...
, English philosopher (died 1679)
*
1591 –
Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg (died 1634)
*
1595 –
John Wilson, English composer and educator (died 1674)
1601–1900
*
1604
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The earliest recorded performance of William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' takes place at Hampton Court prior to the main presentation, ''The Masque of Indian and China K ...
–
Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine
Charles IV (5 April 1604 – 18 September 1675) was Duke of Lorraine from 1624 until his death in 1675, with a brief interruption in 1634, when he abdicated under French pressure in favor of his younger brother, Nicholas Francis.
Life
He came ...
(died 1675)
*
1616
Events
January–March
* January 1 – King James I of England attends the masque '' The Golden Age Restored'', a satire by Ben Jonson on fallen court favorite the Earl of Somerset. The king asks for a repeat performance on January 6. ...
–
Frederick Frederick may refer to:
People
* Frederick (given name), the name
Given name
Nobility
= Anhalt-Harzgerode =
* Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670)
= Austria =
* Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...
, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (died 1661)
*
1622
Events
January–May
* January 7 – The Holy Roman Empire and Transylvania sign the Peace of Nikolsburg.
* February 8 – King James I of England dissolves the Parliament of England, English Parliament.
* March 12 – ...
–
Vincenzo Viviani
Vincenzo Viviani (April 5, 1622 – September 22, 1703) was an Italian mathematician and scientist. He was a pupil of Torricelli and Galileo.[1649
Events
January–March
* January 4 – In England, the Rump Parliament passes an ordinance to set up a High Court of Justice, to try Charles I for high treason.
* January 17 – The Second Ormonde Peace concludes an allian ...]
–
Elihu Yale
Elihu Yale (5 April 1649 – 8 July 1721) was a British Americans, British-American Colonialism, colonial administrator.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Yale lived in America only as a child, and spent the rest of his life in England, Wales, a ...
, American-English merchant and philanthropist (died 1721)
*
1656
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The First War of Villmergen, a civil war in the Old Swiss Confederacy, Confederation of Switzerland pitting its Protestant and Roman Catholic Swiss canton, cantons against each other, breaks o ...
–
Nikita Demidov, Russian industrialist (died 1725)
*
1664 –
Élisabeth Thérèse de Lorraine, French noblewoman and Princess of Epinoy (died 1748)
*
1674 –
Margravine Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg (died 1748)
*
1691 –
Louis VIII,
Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt () was a Imperial State, State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse among the four sons of Landgr ...
(died 1768)
*
1692
Events
January–March
* January 24 – At least 75 residents of what is now York, Maine are killed in the Raid on York (1692), Candlemas Massacre, carried out by French soldiers led by missionary Louis-Pierre Thury, along with a ...
–
Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (died 1730)
*
1719 –
Axel von Fersen the Elder, Swedish field marshal and politician,
Lord Marshal of Sweden (died 1794)
*
1726
Events
January–March
* January 23 – (January 12 Old Style) The Conventicle Act (''Konventikelplakatet'') is adopted in Sweden, outlawing all non-Lutheran religious meetings outside of church services.
* January 26 – T ...
–
Benjamin Harrison V
Benjamin Harrison V (April 5, 1726April 24, 1791) was an American planter, merchant, and politician who served as a legislator in colonial Virginia, following his namesakes' tradition of public service. He was a signer of the Continental Asso ...
, American politician, planter and merchant (died 1791)
*
1727 –
Pasquale Anfossi, Italian violinist and composer (died 1797)
*
1729
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Frederick, the eldest son of King George II of Great Britain is made Prince of Wales at the age of 21, a few months after he comes to Britain for the first time after growing up in Hanover ...
–
Frederick Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (died 1809)
*
1730
Events
January–March
* January 30 (January 19 O.S.) – At dawn, Emperor Peter II of Russia dies of smallpox, aged 14 in Moscow, on the eve of his projected marriage.
* February 26 (February 15 O.S.) – Anna of Russia ( ...
–
Jean Baptiste Seroux d'Agincourt, French archaeologist and historian (died 1814)
*
1732 –
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (; 5 April 1732
(birth/baptism certificate)
– 22 August 1806) was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. One of the most prolific art ...
, French painter and etcher (died 1806)
*
1735
Events
January–March
* January 2 – Alexander Pope's poem '' Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot'' is published in London.
* January 8 – George Frideric Handel's opera '' Ariodante'' is premièred at the Royal Opera House in Covent ...
–
Franziskus Herzan von Harras, Czech Roman Catholic cardinal (died 1804)
*
1739
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Bouvet Island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, in the South Atlantic Ocean.
* January 3 – A 7.6 earthquake shakes the Ningxia Hui Autonomou ...
–
Philemon Dickinson
Philemon Dickinson (April 5, 1739February 4, 1809) was an American lawyer and politician from Trenton, New Jersey. As a brigadier general of the New Jersey militia, he was one of the most effective militia officers of the American Revolutiona ...
, American lawyer and politician (died 1809)
*
1752
In the British Empire, it was the only year with 355 days (11 days were dropped), as September 3–13 were skipped when the Empire adoption of the Gregorian calendar, adopted the Gregorian calendar.
Events January–March
* January 1 ...
–
Sébastien Érard, French instrument maker (died 1831)
*
1761
Events
January–March
* January 14 – Third Battle of Panipat: In India, the armies of the Durrani Empire from Afghanistan, led by Ahmad Shah Durrani and his coalition decisively defeat the Maratha Confederacy, killing over 1 ...
–
Sybil Ludington, American figure of the American Revolutionary War (died 1839)
*
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 ...
–
Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet, English admiral (died 1839)
*
1773
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The hymn that becomes known as '' Amazing Grace'', at this time titled "1 Chronicles 17:16–17", is first used to accompany a sermon led by curate John Newton in the town of Olney, Buck ...
–
José María Coppinger, governor of
Spanish East Florida (died 1844)
*1773 –
Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (died 1839)
*
1774 –
David Gillespie, American politician and surveyor (died 1829)
*
1777
Events
January–March
* January 2 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of the Assunpink Creek: American general George Washington's army repulses a British attack by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis, in a second ...
–
Marie Jules César Savigny, French zoologist (died 1851)
*
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 ...
–
Wincenty Krasiński, Polish nobleman (died 1858)
*
1784 –
Louis Spohr
Louis Spohr (, 5 April 178422 October 1859), baptized Ludewig Spohr, later often in the modern German form of the name Ludwig was a German composer, violinist and conductor.
Highly regarded during his lifetime, Spohr composed ten symphonies, ...
, German violinist, composer, and conductor (died 1859)
*
1788
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The first edition of ''The Times'', previously ''The Daily Universal Register'', is published in London.
* January 2 – Georgia ratifies the United States Constitution, and becomes the fourth U.S ...
–
Franz Pforr, German painter (died 1812)
*
1793
The French Republic introduced the French Revolutionary Calendar starting with the year I.
Events
January–June
* January 7 – The Ebel riot occurs in Sweden.
* January 9 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard becomes the first to ...
–
Casimir Delavigne, French poet and dramatist (died 1843)
* 1793 –
Felix de Muelenaere, Belgian politician (died 1862)
*
1795
Events
January–June
* January – Central England records its coldest ever month, in the CET records dating back to 1659.
* January 14 – The University of North Carolina opens to students at Chapel Hill, becoming the ...
–
Henry Havelock, British general (died 1857)
*
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 ...
–
Jacques Denys Choisy, Swiss clergyman and botanist (died 1859)
*
1801 –
Félix Dujardin, French biologist (died 1860)
* 1801 –
Vincenzo Gioberti, Italian philosopher, publicist and politician (died 1852)
*
1804
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Haiti gains independence from France, and becomes the first black republic.
* February 4 – The Sokoto Caliphate is founded in West Africa.
* February 14 – The First Serbian uprising begins th ...
–
Matthias Jakob Schleiden
Matthias Jakob Schleiden (; 5 April 1804 – 23 June 1881) was a German botanist and co-founder of cell theory, along with Theodor Schwann and Rudolf Virchow. He published some poems and non-scientific work under the pseudonym Ernst.
Career
Ma ...
, German botanist (died 1881)
*
1809
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The Treaty of the Dardanelles, between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Ottoman Empire, is concluded.
* January 10 – Peninsular War – French Marshal Jean ...
–
Karl Felix Halm, German scholar and critic (died 1882)
*
1810 –
Sir Henry Rawlinson, British
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
army officer and politician (died 1895)
*
1811
Events
January–March
* January 8 – An unsuccessful slave revolt is led by Charles Deslondes, in St. Charles and St. James Parishes, Louisiana.
* January 17 – Mexican War of Independence – Battle of Calderón ...
–
Jules Dupré, French painter (died 1889)
*
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 ...
–
Felix Lichnowsky, Czech soldier and politician (died 1848)
*
1822
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
* January 3 – The famous French explorer, Aimé Bonpland, is imprisoned in Paraguay on charges of espionage. ...
–
Émile Louis Victor de Laveleye, Belgian economist (died 1892)
*
1827
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The first regatta in Australia is held, taking place in Tasmania (called at the time ''Van Diemen's Land''), on the River Derwent at Hobart.
* January 15 – Furman University, founded in 1826, b ...
–
Joseph Lister
Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, (5 April 1827 – 10 February 1912) was a British surgeon, medical scientist, experimental pathologist and pioneer of aseptic, antiseptic surgery and preventive healthcare. Joseph Lister revolutionised the Sur ...
, English surgeon and academic (died 1912)
*
1832
Events
January–March
* January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society.
* January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white pla ...
–
Jules Ferry
Jules François Camille Ferry (; 5 April 183217 March 1893) was a French statesman and republican philosopher. He was one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans, Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 18 ...
, French lawyer and politician, 44th
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 1893)
*
1834
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states.
* January 3 – The government of Mexico imprisons Stephen F. Austin in Mexico City.
* January – The W ...
–
Prentice Mulford, American humorist and author (died 1891)
* 1834 –
Wilhelm Olbers Focke
Wilhelm Olbers Focke (5 April 1834, Bremen – 29 September 1922, Bremen) was a medical doctor and botanist who in 1881 published a significant work on plant breeding entitled ''Die Pflanzen-Mischlinge, Ein Beitrag zur Biologie der Gewächse'' (T ...
, German medical doctor and botanist (died 1922)
* 1834 –
Frank R. Stockton, American writer and humorist (died 1902)
*
1835 –
Vítězslav Hálek, Czech poet, writer, journalist, dramatist and theatre critic. (died 1874)
*
1837
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes thousands of deaths in Ottoman Syria.
* January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States.
* February 4 – Seminoles attack Fo ...
–
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He wrote many plays – all tragedies – and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the Eleve ...
, English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic (died 1909)
*
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 – ...
–
Robert Smalls, African-American ship's pilot, sea captain, and politician (died 1915)
*
1840
Events
January–March
* January 3 – One of the predecessor papers of the ''Herald Sun'' of Melbourne, Australia, ''The Port Phillip Herald'', is founded.
* January 10 – Uniform Penny Post is introduced in the United Kingdom.
* Janu ...
–
Ghazaros Aghayan, Armenian historian and linguist (died 1911)
*
1842
Events
January–March
* January 6– 13 – First Anglo-Afghan War – Massacre of Elphinstone's army (Battle of Gandamak): British East India Company troops are destroyed by Afghan forces on the road from Kabul to Jalalabad, Afghan ...
–
Hans Hildebrand, Swedish archaeologist (died 1913)
*
1845
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The Philippines began reckoning Asian dates by hopping the International Date Line through skipping Tuesday, December 31, 1844. That time zone shift was a reform made by Governor–General Narciso ...
–
Friedrich Sigmund Merkel, German anatomist and histopathologist (died 1919)
* 1845 –
Jules Cambon, French diplomat (died 1935)
*
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 ...
–
Sigmund Exner, Austrian physiologist (died 1926)
* 1846 –
Henry Wellesley, British peer and politician (died 1900)
*
1848
1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...
–
Thure de Thulstrup
Thure de Thulstrup (born Bror Thure Thulstrup;April 5, 1848 – June 9, 1930) was an American illustrator with contributions for numerous magazines, including three decades of work for ''Harper's Weekly''.''Dictionary of Literary Biography'' (onl ...
, American illustrator (died 1930)
* 1848 –
Ulrich Wille, Swiss army general (died 1925)
*
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 ...
–
Enrico Mazzanti
Enrico Mazzanti (5 April 1850 in Florence – 3 September 1893 in Florence) was an Italian engineer and cartoonist, who illustrated the first edition of Carlo Collodi's ''The Adventures of Pinocchio''.Encyclopedia of Italian literary studies, Vol ...
, Italian engineer and cartoonist (died 1910)
*
1852 –
Émile Billard, French sailor (died 1930)
* 1852 –
Walter W. Winans, American marksman and sculptor (died 1920)
* 1852 –
Franz Eckert, German composer and musician (died 1916)
*
1856
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California.
* January 23 – The American sidewheel steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatl ...
–
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...
, African-American educator, essayist and historian (died 1915)
*
1857
Events January–March
* January 1 – The biggest Estonian newspaper, '' Postimees'', is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen.
* January 7 – The partly French-owned London General Omnibus Company begins operating.
* Ja ...
–
Alexander of Battenberg (died 1893)
*
1858
Events
January–March
* January 9
** Revolt of Rajab Ali: British forces finally defeat Rajab Ali Khan of Chittagong.
** Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas, commits suicide.
* January 14 – Orsini affair: Pi ...
–
Washington Atlee Burpee, Canadian businessman, founded
Burpee Seeds (died 1915)
*
1859 –
Reinhold Seeberg, German theologian (died 1935)
*
1860
Events
January
* January 2 – The astronomer Urbain Le Verrier announces the discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan (hypothetical planet), Vulcan at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France.
* January 10 &ndas ...
–
Harry S. Barlow, British tennis player (died 1917)
*
1862
Events
January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom annexes Lagos Island, in modern-day Nigeria.
* January 6 – Second French intervention in Mexico, French intervention in Mexico: Second French Empire, French, Spanish and British ...
–
Louis Ganne, French conductor (died 1923)
* 1862 –
Leo Stern, English cellist (died 1904)
*
1863
Events
January
* January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate States of America an official war goal. The signing ...
–
Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (died 1950)
*
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 ...
–
Ernest Lewis, British tennis player (died 1930)
*
1869
Events January
* January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan.
* January 5 – Scotland's second oldest professional football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded.
* January 20 – Elizabe ...
–
Sergey Chaplygin, Russian physicist, mathematician, and engineer (died 1942)
* 1869 –
Albert Roussel
Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (; 5 April 1869 – 23 August 1937) was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His ...
, French composer (died 1937)
*
1870
Events
January
* January 1
** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England.
** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed.
* January 3 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge be ...
–
Motobu Chōki
was an Okinawan karate master and founder of Motobu-ryū. He was born into a branch of the Ryukyuan royal family, and at the age of 12, he and his older brother Motobu Chōyū were invited by Ankō Itosu to be taught karate.
Motobu also studie ...
, Japanese karateka (died 1944)
*
1871
Events January–March
* January 3 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Bapaume – Prussians win a strategic victory.
* January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...
–
Stanisław Grabski
Stanisław Grabski (; 5 April 1871 – 6 May 1949) was a Polish economist and politician associated with the National Democracy (Poland), National Democracy political camp. As the top Polish negotiator during the Peace of Riga talks in 1921, Gra ...
, Polish economist and politician (died 1949)
*
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 ...
–
Samuel Cate Prescott, American microbiologist and chemist (died 1962)
*
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 ...
–
Joseph Rheden, Austrian astronomer (died 1946)
*
1874
Events
January
* January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx.
* January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time.
* January 3 – Third Carlist War: Battle of Caspe &n ...
–
Emmanuel Célestin Suhard, French Cardinal of the Catholic Church (died 1949)
* 1874 –
Manuel María Ponce Brousset,
President of Peru
The president of Peru (), officially the constitutional president of the Republic of Peru (), is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is the head of the executive branch and is the supreme head of the Peruvian Armed ...
(died 1966)
*
1878
Events January
* January 5 – Russo-Turkish War: Battle of Shipka Pass IV – Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire.
* January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy.
* January 17 – Russo-Turkish War: ...
–
Albert Champion, French cyclist (died 1927)
* 1878 –
Georg Misch, German philosopher (died 1965)
* 1878 –
Paul Weinstein, German high jumper (died 1964)
*
1879
Events January
* January 1
** The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War.
** Brahms' Violin Concerto is premiered in Leipzig with Joseph Joachim ...
–
Arthur Berriedale Keith
Arthur Berriedale Keith, FBA (5 April 1879 – 6 October 1944) was a Scottish constitutional lawyer, scholar of Sanskrit and Indologist. He became Regius Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology and Lecturer on the Constitution of t ...
, Scottish lawyer (died 1944)
* 1879 –
Nikolaus zu Dohna-Schlodien, German naval officer and author (died 1956)
*
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 ...
–
Eric Carlberg, Swedish Army officer, diplomat, shooter, fencer and modern pentathlete (died 1963)
* 1880 –
Vilhelm Carlberg, Swedish Army officer and shooter (died 1970)
*
1882 –
Song Jiaoren
Song Jiaoren (, ; Chinese name, Given name at birth: Liàn 鍊; Courtesy name: Dùnchū 鈍初; 5 April 1882 – 22 March 1913) was a Republic of China (1912–1949), Chinese republican revolutionary, political leader and a founder of the Kuom ...
, Chinese revolutionary (died 1913)
* 1882 –
Natalia Sedova, 2nd wife of
Leon Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...
(died 1962)
*
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 – ...
–
Walter Huston
Walter Thomas Huston ( ; April 6, 1883 or 1884 – April 7, 1950) was a Canadian actor and singer. Huston won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in '' The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'', directed by his son John Huston. He ...
, Canadian-American actor and singer (died 1950)
*
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 ...
–
Ion Inculeț, Bessarabian academic and politician,
President of Moldova
The president of the Republic of Moldova () is the head of state of Moldova. The current president is Maia Sandu, who assumed office on 24 December 2020.
Duties and functions
The president "represents the State" and is "…the guarantor of n ...
(died 1940)
*
1885 –
Dimitrie Cuclin, Romanian composer (died 1978)
*
1886
Events January
* January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885.
* January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...
–
Gotthelf Bergsträsser, German linguist (died 1933)
* 1886 –
Frederick Lindemann
Frederick Alexander Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell, ( ; 5 April 18863 July 1957) was a British physicist who was prime scientific adviser to Winston Churchill in World War II.
He was involved in the development of radar and infra-red guidan ...
, British physicist (died 1957)
* 1886 –
Gustavo Jiménez, Peruvian colonel and politician, 73rd
President of Peru
The president of Peru (), officially the constitutional president of the Republic of Peru (), is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is the head of the executive branch and is the supreme head of the Peruvian Armed ...
(died 1933)
*
1887
Events January
* January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher.
* January 20
** The United States Senate allows the United States Navy to lease Pearl Har ...
–
William Cowhig, British gymnast (died 1964)
*
1889
Events January
* January 1
** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada.
** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the Dakotas ...
–
Vicente Ferreira Pastinha, Brazilian martial artist (died 1981)
*
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 ...
–
Karl Kirk, Danish gymnast (died 1955)
* 1890 –
William Moore, British track and field athlete (died 1956)
*
1891 –
Arnold Jackson, English runner, soldier, and lawyer (died 1972)
* 1891 –
Laura Vicuña, Chilean nun (died 1904)
*
1892
In Samoa, this was the only leap year spanned to 367 days as July 4 repeated. This means that the International Date Line was drawn from the east of the country to go west.
Events
January
* January 1 – Ellis Island begins processing imm ...
–
Raymond Bonney, American ice hockey player (died 1964)
*
1893 –
Frithjof Andersen, Norwegian wrestler (died 1975)
* 1893 –
Clas Thunberg, Finnish speed skater (died 1973)
*
1894 –
Lawrence Dale Bell, American industrialist and founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation (died 1956)
* 1894 –
Hans Hüttig, German SS officer (died 1980)
* 1894 –
Carl Rudolf Florin, Swedish botanist (died 1965)
*
1895
Events January
* January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...
–
Mike O'Dowd, American boxer (died 1957)
*
1896
Events
January
* January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers.
* January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
* January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...
–
Einar Lundborg, Swedish aviator (died 1931)
*
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 ...
–
Hans Schuberth, German politician (died 1976)
*
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 ...
–
Solange d'Ayen, French noblewoman, Duchess of Ayen and journalist (died 1976)
*
1899
Events January
* January 1
** Spanish rule formally ends in Cuba with the cession of Spanish sovereignty to the U.S., concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.''The American Monthly Review of Reviews'' (February 1899), p ...
–
Alfred Blalock, American surgeon and academic (died 1964)
*
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 ...
–
Herbert Bayer
Herbert Bayer (April 5, 1900 – September 30, 1985) was an Austrian and American graphic designer, painter, photographer, sculptor, art director, environmental and interior designer, and architect. He was instrumental in the development of the ...
, Austrian-American graphic designer, painter, and photographer (died 1985)
* 1900 –
Roman Steinberg, Estonian wrestler (died 1939)
* 1900 –
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the ...
, American actor (died 1967)
1901–present
*
1901 –
Curt Bois
Curt Bois (born Kurt Boas; April 5, 1901 – December 25, 1991) was a German actor with a career spanning over 80 years. He is best remembered for his performances as the pickpocket in ''Casablanca (film), Casablanca'' (1942) and the poet Homer ...
, German actor (died 1991)
* 1901 –
Chester Bowles
Chester Bliss Bowles (April 5, 1901 – May 25, 1986) was an American diplomat and ambassador, List of governors of Connecticut, governor of Connecticut, congressman and co-founder of a major advertising agency, Benton & Bowles, now part of Publi ...
, American diplomat and ambassador (died 1986)
* 1901 –
Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in 1929 as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy '' Ninotchka'' ( ...
, American actor (died 1981)
* 1901 –
Doggie Julian, American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach (died 1967)
*
1902 –
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson ( – June 12, 1994; Anno Mundi, AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or simply the Rebbe, was an American Orthodox rabbi and the most rec ...
, Russian-American rabbi (died 1994)
*
1903 –
Marion Aye, American actress (died 1951)
*
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.
* ...
–
Richard Eberhart, American poet and academic (died 2005)
*
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, ...
–
Albert Charles Smith, American botanist (died 1999)
* 1906 –
Fernando Germani, Italian organist (died 1998)
* 1906 –
Ted Morgan, New Zealand boxer (died 1952)
*
1907
Events
January
* January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000.
February
* February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...
–
Sanya Dharmasakti, Thai jurist (died 2002)
*
1908
This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time.
Events
January
* January ...
–
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...
, American actress (died 1989)
* 1908 –
Kurt Neumann, German director (died 1958)
* 1908 –
Jagjivan Ram
Jagjivan Ram (5 April 1908 – 6 July 1986), popularly known as Babuji, was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as a minister with various portfolios for over 30 years, making him the List of longest-serving members of the ...
, Indian politician, 4th
Deputy Prime Minister of India
The deputy prime minister of India (IAST: ''Bhārat Ke Upapradhānamantrī''), although not a Constitutional post, is the second-highest ranking minister of the Union in the executive branch of the Government of India and is a senior member of ...
(died 1986)
* 1908 –
Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor and manager (died 1989)
*
1909 –
Albert R. Broccoli, American film producer, co-founded
Eon Productions
Eon Productions Limited is a British film production company that primarily produces the ''James Bond'' film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the UK.
''James Bond'' films
Eon wa ...
(died 1996)
* 1909 –
Giacomo Gentilomo
Giacomo Gentilomo (5 April 1909 – 16 April 2001) was an Italian film director and Painting, painter.
Early life
He was born in Trieste. Gentilomo moved to Rome at a young age.
Career
At 21 years old he entered the cinema industry, working ...
, Italian film director and painter (died 2001)
* 1909 –
Károly Sós, Hungarian footballer and manager (died 1991)
* 1909 –
Erwin Wegner, German hurdler (died 1945)
*
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 ...
–
Sven Andersson, Swedish politician (died 1987)
* 1910 –
Oronzo Pugliese, Italian football manager (died 1990)
*
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 ...
–
Hedi Amara Nouira, Tunisian politician (died 1993)
* 1911 –
Johnny Revolta, American golfer (died 1991)
*
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 ...
–
Jehan Buhan, French fencer (died 1999)
* 1912 –
Habib Elghanian, Iranian businessman (died 1979)
* 1912 –
Antonio Ferri, Italian scientist (died 1975)
* 1912 –
Carlos Guastavino, Argentine composer (died 2000)
* 1912 –
Makar Honcharenko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (died 1997)
* 1912 –
John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is probably best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation com ...
, English actor (died 1983)
* 1912 –
István Örkény, Hungarian author and playwright (died 1979)
* 1912 –
Bill Roberts, English sprinter and soldier (died 2001)
*
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 ...
–
Antoni Clavé, Catalan artist (died 2005)
* 1913 –
Nicolas Grunitzky, 2nd President of Togo (died 1969)
* 1913 –
Ruth Smith, Faroese artist (died 1958)
*
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 ...
–
Felice Borel, Italian footballer (died 1993)
*
1916
Events
Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...
–
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 12th-greatest male ...
, American actor, political activist, and producer (died 2003)
*
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 ...
–
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime fiction, crime, psychological horror fiction, horror and Fantasy Fiction, fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and ...
, American author (died 1994)
* 1917 –
Frans Gommers
François Gommers (5 April 1917; Antwerp, Belgium – 20 April 1996) was a Belgian footballer. He was a defender for Beerschot VAC with whom he was twice Belgian Champion in 1938 and 1939.
He was also a Belgium international in 1938, ...
, Belgian footballer (died 1996)
*
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 ...
–
Lester James Peries
Sri Lankabhimanya Lester James Peries (Sinhala language, Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකාභිමාන්ය ලෙස්ටර් ජේම්ස් පීරිස්; 5 April 1919 – 29 April 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director, ...
, Sri Lankan director, screenwriter, and producer (died 2018)
*
1920
Events January
* January 1
** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.
** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...
–
Barend Biesheuvel, Dutch politician,
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
The prime minister of the Netherlands () or, before 1945, the chairman of the Council of Ministers () is the ''de facto'' head of government of the Netherlands.''Grondwet voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden'' onstitution of the Kingdom of the N ...
(died 2001)
* 1920 –
Arthur Hailey
Arthur Frederick Hailey, AE (5 April 1920 – 24 November 2004) was a British/Canadian novelist whose plot-driven storylines were set against the backdrops of various industries. His books, which include such best sellers as ''Hotel'' (1965), ...
, English-Canadian soldier and author (died 2004)
* 1920 –
Alfonso Thiele, Turkish-Italian race car driver (died 1986)
* 1920 –
John Willem Gran, Swedish bishop (died 2008)
*
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 ...
–
Christopher Hewett, English actor and theatre director (died 2001)
*
1922
Events
January
* January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes.
* January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
–
Tom Finney
Sir Thomas Finney (5 April 1922 – 14 February 2014) was an English international footballer who played from 1946 to 1960 as a winger or centre forward for Preston North End and England. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of England' ...
, English footballer (died 2014)
* 1922 –
Harry Freedman, Polish-Canadian horn player, composer, and educator (died 2005)
* 1922 –
Andy Linden, American race car driver (died 1987)
* 1922 –
Gale Storm
Josephine Owaissa Cottle (April 5, 1922 – June 27, 2009), known professionally as Gale Storm, was an American actress and singer. After a film career from 1940 to 1952, she starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, '' My Litt ...
, American actress and singer (died 2009)
*
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 ' ...
–
Ernest Mandel
Ernest Ezra Mandel (; 5 April 1923 – 20 July 1995), also known by various pseudonyms such as Ernest Germain, Pierre Gousset, Henri Vallin, Walter, was a Belgian Marxian economist, Trotskyist activist and theorist, and Holocaust survivor. He f ...
, German-born Belgian Marxist economist, Trotskyist activist and theorist (died 1995)
* 1923 –
Michael V. Gazzo, American actor (died 1995)
* 1923 –
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu (; 5 April 1923 – 29 September 2001) was a South Vietnam, South Vietnamese military officer and politician who was the Leaders of South Vietnam, president of South Vietnam from 1967 to 1975. He was a general in the Repub ...
, Vietnamese general and politician, 5th
President of South Vietnam (died 2001)
*
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...
–
Igor Borisov, Soviet rower (died 2003)
*
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 ...
–
Janet Rowley, American human geneticist (died 2013)
* 1925 –
Pierre Nihant, Belgian cyclist (died 1993)
*
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 ...
–
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...
, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2024)
* 1926 –
Liang Yusheng
Chen Wentong (5 April 1924 – 22 January 2009), better known by his pen name Liang Yusheng, was a Chinese-born Australian novelist best known for being a pioneer of the "new school" of the wuxia genre in the 20th century. Along with Jin Yong ...
, Chinese writer (died 2009)
*
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 ...
–
Thanin Kraivichien, Thai lawyer and politician, 14th prime minister of Thailand (died 2025)
* 1927 –
Arne Hoel, Norwegian ski jumper (died 2006)
*
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 ...
–
Enzo Cannavale, Italian actor (died 2011)
* 1928 –
Tony Williams, American singer (died 1992)
*
1929
This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
–
Hugo Claus, Belgian author, poet, and painter (died 2008)
* 1929 –
Ivar Giaever, Norwegian-American physicist 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
* 1929 –
Nigel Hawthorne
Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was an English actor. He is known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary in the 1980s sitcom ''Yes Minister'' and the Cabinet Secre ...
, English actor and producer (died 2001)
* 1929 –
Joe Meek
Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer and songwriter considered one of the most influential sound engineers of all time, being one of the first to develop ideas such as the recording studio a ...
, English songwriter and producer (died 1967)
* 1929 –
Mahmoud Mollaghasemi, Iranian wrestler
*
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...
–
Mary Costa, American singer and actress
* 1930 –
Pierre Lhomme, French director of photography (died 2019)
*
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 ...
–
Jack Clement, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2013)
* 1931 –
Héctor Olivera, Argentine director, producer and screenwriter
*
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 ...
–
Feridun Buğeker, Turkish footballer (died 2014)
* 1933 –
Frank Gorshin
Frank John Gorshin Jr. (April 5, 1933 – May 17, 2005) was an American actor, comedian and impressionist. He made many guest appearances on television variety and talk shows, including '' The Ed Sullivan Show'', '' Tonight Starring Steve Allen' ...
, American actor (died 2005)
* 1933 –
Barbara Holland, American author (died 2010)
* 1933 –
K. Kailasapathy, Sri Lankan journalist and academic (died 1982)
*
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 ...
–
John Carey, English author and critic
* 1934 –
Roman Herzog
Roman Herzog (; 5 April 1934 – 10 January 2017) was a German politician, judge and legal scholar, who served as the president of Germany from 1994 to 1999. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), he was the first president to be elec ...
, German lawyer and politician, 7th
President of Germany
The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international correspondence; the official English title is President of the F ...
(died 2017)
* 1934 –
Moise Safra, Brazilian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded
Banco Safra (died 2014)
* 1934 –
Stanley Turrentine
Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and record producer. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note Reco ...
, American saxophonist and composer (died 2000)
*
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 ...
–
Giovanni Cianfriglia, Italian actor (died 2024)
* 1935 –
Peter Grant, English talent manager (died 1995)
* 1935 –
Donald Lynden-Bell
Donald Lynden-Bell CBE FRS (5 April 1935 – 6 February 2018) was a British theoretical astrophysicist. He was the first to determine that galaxies contain supermassive black holes at their centres, and that such black holes power quasars. ...
, English astrophysicist and astronomer (died 2018)
* 1935 –
Frank Schepke, German rower (died 2017)
*
1936
Events January–February
* January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House.
* January 28 – Death and state funer ...
–
Ronnie Bucknum, American race car driver (died 1992)
* 1936 –
Glenn Jordan, American director and producer
* 1936 –
Dragoljub Minić, Yugoslavian chess Grandmaster (died 2005)
*
1937
Events
January
* January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua.
* January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...
–
Joseph Lelyveld, American journalist and author (died 2024)
* 1937 –
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...
, American general and politician, 65th
United States Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State.
The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...
(died 2021)
* 1937 –
Andrzej Schinzel, Polish mathematician (died 2021)
* 1937 –
Arie Selinger, Israeli volleyball player and manager
* 1937 –
Juan Vicente Lezcano, Paraguayan footballer (died 2012)
*
1938
Events
January
* January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS).
* January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...
–
Colin Bland
Kenneth Colin Bland (5 April 1938 – 14 April 2018) was a Rhodesian cricketer who played in 21 Test matches for South Africa in the 1960s. He is regarded as one of the greatest fielders in the history of Test cricket.
Cricket career
Colin ...
, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer (died 2018)
* 1938 –
Mal Colston
Malcolm Arthur Colston (5 April 1938 – 23 August 2003) was an Australian politician who served as a Australian Senate, Senator for Queensland from 1975 to 1999. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party, Labor Party until 1996, when he res ...
, Australian educator and politician (died 2003)
* 1938 –
Nancy Holt
Nancy Holt (April 5, 1938 – February 8, 2014) was an American artist most known for her public sculpture, installation art, concrete poetry, and land art. Throughout her career, Holt also produced works in other media, including film and photog ...
, American sculptor and painter (died 2014)
* 1938 –
Natalya Kustinskaya, Soviet actress (died 2012)
* 1938 –
Giorgos Sideris, Greek footballer
*
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 ...
–
Leka I, Crown Prince of Albania (died 2011)
* 1939 –
Crispian St. Peters, English singer-songwriter (died 2010)
* 1939 –
Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas
Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas (; born 5 April 1939) is a Yemeni politician. He was appointed Prime Minister of Yemen by President Ali Abdullah Saleh when the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and Yemen Arab Republic united in 1990 to form present-d ...
,
Prime Minister of Yemen
The prime minister of the Republic of Yemen is the head of government of Yemen.
Under the Constitution of Yemen, the prime minister is appointed by the president, and must, like his cabinet, enjoy confidence from the House of Representatives ...
* 1939 –
Ronald White, American singer-songwriter (died 1995)
* 1939 –
David Winters, English-American actor, choreographer and producer (died 2019)
*
1940
A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280.
Events
Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
*Janu ...
–
Tommy Cash
Tommy Cash (April 5, 1940 – September 13, 2024) was an American Country music, country musician. His elder brother was Johnny Cash.
Background and career
Cash was born in Dyess, Arkansas, on April 5, 1940, the youngest of four sons and thre ...
, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2024)
* 1940 –
Gilles Proulx, Canadian journalist, historian, and radio host
*
1941
The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...
–
Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty (born April 5, 1941) is an American-Canadian actor. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his role as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 miniseries ''Holocaust'' and a Tony Award in 1974 for his performance in the ...
, American-Canadian actor
* 1941 –
Dave Swarbrick
David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English traditional folk musician and songwriter and one of the greatest fiddlers in the world. He was one of the most highly regarded musicians produced by the second Bri ...
, English singer-songwriter and fiddler (died 2016)
*
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 ...
–
Allan Clarke, English singer-songwriter
* 1942 –
Pascal Couchepin
Pascal Couchepin (born 5 April 1942) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1998 to 2009. A member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD), he was President of the Swiss Confederation twice, in 2003 and 2008 ...
, Swiss politician
* 1942 –
Juan Gisbert Sr.
Juan Gisbert Sr. (born 5 April 1942) is a retired Spanish professional tennis player from the 1960s and 1970s. He was ranked world No. 14 in 1967. He was active from 1956 to 1976 and won 14 career singles titles.
He won one ATP Tour, ATP single ...
, Spanish tennis player
* 1942 –
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a British film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Mannerist painting in particular. Common traits in his films a ...
, Welsh director and screenwriter
*
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 � ...
–
Dean Brown, Australian politician, 41st
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 ...
* 1943 –
Max Gail, American actor and director
* 1943 –
Fighting Harada, Japanese boxer
* 1943 –
Miet Smet, Belgian politician
* 1943 –
Jean-Louis Tauran, French cardinal (died 2018)
*
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 ...
–
Willeke van Ammelrooy, Dutch actress and director
* 1944 –
János Martonyi, Hungarian politician
* 1944 –
Evan Parker, British musician
* 1944 –
Douangchay Phichit, Laotian politician (died 2014)
* 1944 –
Willy Planckaert, Belgian cyclist
* 1944 –
Pedro Rosselló
Pedro Juan Rosselló González (; born April 5, 1944) is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. He was President of the New Progressive Party from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2008, an ...
, Puerto Rican physician and politician, 7th
Governor of Puerto Rico
The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...
* 1944 –
Peter T. King
Peter Thomas King (born April 5, 1944) is an American former politician and novelist who represented New York (state), New York in the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2021. A member of the Repub ...
, American soldier, lawyer, and politician
*
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 ...
–
Ove Bengtson, Swedish tennis player
* 1945 –
Steve Carver
Steve Carver (April 5, 1945 – January 8, 2021) was an American film director, producer, and photographer.
Biography
Carver attended Manhattan's High School of Music and Art and received his BA from Cornell University and his Master of Fine Art ...
, American director and producer (died 2021)
* 1945 –
Cem Karaca, Turkish musician (died 2004)
* 1945 –
Tommy Smith, English footballer (died 2019)
*
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 ...
–
Jane Asher
Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)''The International Who's Who of Women'', 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and through her associatio ...
, English actress
* 1946 –
Julio Ángel Fernández, Uruguayan astronomer
* 1946 –
Björn Granath
Björn Gösta Tryggve Granath (5 April 1946 – 5 February 2017) was a Swedish actor who appeared in over 100 films and television shows.
Life and career
Granath was born in Örgryte, Gothenburg, Sweden. He starred in a broad range of roles fr ...
, Swedish actor (died 2017)
* 1946 –
Georgi Markov
Georgi Ivanov Markov ( ; 1 March 1929 – 11 September 1978) was a Bulgarian dissident writer. He originally worked as a novelist, screenwriter and playwright in his native country, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, until his defection in 196 ...
, Bulgarian Greco-Roman wrestler
*
1947
It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Events
January
* January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...
–
Đurđica Bjedov, Yugoslav swimmer
* 1947 –
Willy Chirino, Cuban-American musician
* 1947 –
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...
, Filipino academic and politician, 14th
President of the Philippines
The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-ch ...
* 1947 –
Ramón Mifflin, Peruvian footballer
* 1947 –
Virendra Sharma, Indian-English lawyer and politician
*
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) ...
–
Pierre-Albert Chapuisat, Swiss footballer
* 1948 –
Dave Holland Dave Holland or David Holland may refer to:
*Dave Holland (bassist)
David Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English double bassist, bass guitarist, cellist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has ...
, English drummer (died 2018)
* 1948 –
Roy McFarland
Roy Leslie McFarland (born 5 April 1948) is an English former football manager and player. With Derby County, he played 442 league games, helping him to earn 28 caps for England.
Born in Liverpool, McFarland developed his skills at Tranmere Ro ...
, English footballer and manager
*
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025
* January 2 – Luis ...
–
Stanley Dziedzic, American wrestler
* 1949 –
Larry Franco, American film producer
* 1949 –
Judith Resnik, American engineer and astronaut (died 1986)
*
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
–
Ann C. Crispin, American writer (died 2013)
* 1950 –
Franklin Chang Díaz
Franklin may refer to:
People and characters
* Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name
* Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name
* Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...
, Costa Rican-Chinese American astronaut and physicist
* 1950 –
Agnetha Fältskog
Agneta Åse "Agnetha" Fältskog (; born 5 April 1950) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and a former member of the pop group ABBA. She first achieved success in Sweden with the release of her 1968 Agnetha Fältskog (album), self-titled debut alb ...
, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
* 1950 –
Toshiko Fujita
was a Japanese actress, singer and narrator. She was affiliated with Aoni Production at the time of her death.
Biography
At the age of eight, Fujita worked in radio and television as an actress, singer and comedian. She also sang theme son ...
, Japanese actress, singer and narrator (died 2018)
* 1950 –
Miki Manojlović, Serbian actor
*
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...
–
Les Binks
James Leslie Binks (8 August 1951 – 15 March 2025) was a Northern Irish Heavy metal music, heavy metal drummer. He is best-known for being the drummer for Judas Priest, where he was a member from 1977 to 1979.
Life and career Early years
Pre ...
, Irish drummer and songwriter
* 1951 –
Yevgeniy Gavrilenko, Belarusian hurdler
* 1951 –
Nedim Gürsel, Turkish writer
* 1951 –
Dean Kamen
Dean Lawrence Kamen (; born April 5, 1951) is an American engineer, inventor, and businessman. He is known for his invention of the Segway PT, Segway and iBOT, as well as founding the non-profit organization For Inspiration and Recognition of Sc ...
, American inventor and businessman, founded
Segway Inc.
* 1951 –
Dave McArtney, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2013)
* 1951 –
Ubol Ratana, Thai Princess
*
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, ...
–
Alfie Conn, Scottish international footballer
* 1952 –
John C. Dvorak, American author and editor
* 1952 –
Sandy Mayer
Alexander Mayer (born April 5, 1952) is a former tennis player from the United States. He won twelve titles in singles and twenty-four titles in doubles in his professional career, and was part of the winning tennis squad at Stanford University ...
, American tennis player
* 1952 –
Dennis Mortimer, English footballer
* 1952 –
Mitch Pileggi
Mitch Pileggi (; born April 5, 1952) is an American actor. He played Horace Pinker in '' Shocker'', Walter Skinner on ''The X-Files'', Colonel Steven Caldwell on ''Stargate Atlantis'', Ernest Darby in '' Sons of Anarchy'', and Harris Ryland i ...
, American actor
*
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...
–
Frank Gaffney, American journalist and radio host
* 1953 –
Keiko Han, Japanese actress
* 1953 –
Tae Jin-ah, South Korean singer
* 1953 –
Raleb Majadele, Israeli politician
* 1953 –
Ian Swales, English accountant and politician
*
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 ...
–
Guy Bertrand, Canadian linguist and radio host
* 1954 –
Peter Case
Peter Case (born April 5, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His career is wide-ranging, from rock n' roll and blues, to folk rock and solo acoustic performance.
Biography
Early career
Case was born in Buffalo, New York, B ...
, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1954 –
Mohamed Ben Mouza, Tunisian footballer
* 1954 –
Stan Ridgway
Stanard "Stan" Ridgway (born April 5, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter, and film and television composer known for his distinctive voice, dramatic lyrical narratives, and eclectic solo albums. He was the original lead singer and a founding ...
, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1954 –
Yoshiichi Watanabe, Japanese footballer
*
1955 –
Charlotte de Turckheim, French actress, producer, and screenwriter
* 1955 –
Ricardo Ferrero, Argentine footballer (died 2015)
* 1955 –
Christian Gourcuff, French footballer and manager
* 1955 –
Anthony Horowitz
Anthony John Horowitz (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include the '' Alex Rider'' series featuring a 14-year-old British boy who spi ...
, English author and screenwriter
* 1955 –
Bernard Longley, English prelate
* 1955 –
Akira Toriyama
was a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He came to be regarded as one of the most influential and important authors in the history of manga, authoring highly influential and popular series, particularly Dragon Ball (manga), ''Dra ...
, Japanese illustrator (died 2024)
* 1955 –
Takayoshi Yamano, Japanese footballer
*
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...
–
Diamond Dallas Page
}
Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr., April 5, 1956), is an American fitness instructor, actor, and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Di ...
, American wrestler and actor
* 1956 –
Leonid Fedun, Russian businessman
* 1956 –
Reid Ribble, American politician
*
1957
Events January
* January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany.
* January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
* January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...
–
Sebastian Adayanthrath, Indian bishop
* 1957 –
Karin Roßley, German hurdler
*
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...
–
Kevin Dann, Australian rugby league player (died 2021)
* 1958 –
Henrik Dettmann
Henrik Dettmann (born 5 April 1958) is a Finnish professional basketball coach who last served as head coach of the French LNB Pro A team SIG Strasbourg and the Finnish national basketball team. He was the head coach of German national basketb ...
, Finnish basketball coach
* 1958 –
Ryoichi Kawakatsu, Japanese footballer
* 1958 –
Johan Kriek
Johan Christiaan Kriek (born April 5, 1958) is a South African–American former professional tennis player. As a tennis player, he won two Australian Open titles and reached the semifinals at the French Open and US Open, as well as the quarte ...
, South African-American tennis player
* 1958 –
Daniel Schneidermann, French journalist
* 1958 –
Lasantha Wickrematunge
Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge (, ; 5 April 1958 - 8 January 2009) was a high-profile Sri Lankan journalist, politician, Television presenter, broadcaster, and human rights in Sri Lanka, human rights activist who was assassinated in January 2009 ...
, Sri Lankan lawyer and journalist (died 2009)
*
1959
Events
January
* January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...
–
Paul Chung, Hong Kong actor and host (died 1989)
*
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events January
* Janu ...
–
Asteris Koutoulas, Romanian-German record producer, manager, and author
* 1960 –
Larry McCray, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1960 –
Ian Redford, Scottish footballer and manager (died 2014)
* 1960 –
Hiromi Taniguchi, Japanese long-distance runner
* 1960 –
Adnan Terzić, Bosnian politician
*
1961
Events January
* January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union.
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...
–
Andrea Arnold
Andrea Patricia Arnold OBE (born 5 April 1961) is an English filmmaker and former actress. She won an Academy Award for her short film ''Wasp'' in 2005. Her feature films include '' Red Road'' (2006), '' Fish Tank'' (2009) and '' American Hon ...
, English filmmaker and actress
* 1961 –
Anna Caterina Antonacci, Italian soprano
* 1961 –
Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, Bahraini-Danish human rights activist
* 1961 –
Lisa Zane
Lisa Zane (born April 5, 1961)Skin, Mr. Skin (2005). Mr. Skin's Skincyclopedia: The A-to-Z Guide to Finding Your Favorite Actresses naked'. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. p. 612. . is an American actress, singer, and songwriter.
Early lif ...
, American actress and singer
*
1962
The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War.
Events January
* January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
–
Lana Clarkson
Lana Jean Clarkson (April 5, 1962 – February 3, 2003) was an American actress and fashion model. During the 1980s, she rose to prominence in several sword and sorcery, sword-and-sorcery films. In 2003, record producer Phil Spector Murder of L ...
, American actress and model (died 2003)
* 1962 –
Sara Danius, Swedish scholar of literature and aesthetics (died 2019)
* 1962 –
Richard Gough, Swedish born Scottish international footballer
* 1962 –
Arild Monsen, Norwegian cross-country skier
* 1962 –
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Russian businessman and politician, 1st
President of Kalmykia
*
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...
–
Arthur Adams, American comic book artist and writer
*
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
–
Neil Eckersley
Neil Eckersley (born 5 April 1964) is a retired judoka from the United Kingdom, who represented Great Britain at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities ...
, British judoka
* 1964 –
Vakhtang Iagorashvili, Soviet modern pentathlete
* 1964 –
Levon Julfalakyan, Soviet Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler
* 1964 –
Marius Lăcătuș
Marius Mihai Lăcătuș (; born 5 April 1964) is a Romanian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player.
He is the most successful footballer of CSA Steaua București (football), Steaua ...
, Romanian footballer and coach
*
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
–
Aykut Kocaman
Aykut Kocaman (, born 5 April 1965) is a former Turkish footballer, who played as a striker. He is the former manager of İstanbul Başakşehir. Before he made his debut 1980 with the amateur club Kabataş Altınmızrak in Istanbul, Kocaman ...
, Turkish footballer and manager
* 1965 –
Lang Tzu-yun, Taiwanese actress
* 1965 –
Elizabeth McIntyre
Elizabeth Geary McIntyre (born April 5, 1965), sometimes known as Liz McIntyre, is an American freestyle skier and Olympic medalist. She received a silver medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, in moguls. , American freestyle skier
* 1965 –
Svetlana Paramygina, Belarusian biathlete
*
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 ...
–
Yoon Hyun, South Korean judoka
* 1966 –
Mike McCready
Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician known for being a founding member and lead guitarist of Pearl Jam. McCready was also a member of the side project bands Flight to Mars, Temple of the Dog, Mad Season (band), Ma ...
, American guitarist and songwriter
* 1966 –
Peter Overton, English-Australian journalist and television host
*
1967
Events January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
–
Troy Gentry, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2017)
* 1967 –
Franck Silvestre, French footballer
* 1967 –
Erland Johnsen, Norwegian footballer
* 1967 –
Laima Zilporytė, Soviet cyclist
*
1968
Events January–February
* January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously.
* January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
–
Paula Cole, American singer-songwriter and pianist
*
1969
1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
–
Dinos Angelidis, Greek basketball player
* 1969 –
Viatcheslav Djavanian, Russian cyclist
* 1969 –
Pontus Kåmark, Swedish footballer
* 1969 –
Pavlo Khnykin, Ukrainian swimmer
* 1969 –
Tomislav Piplica, Bosnian footballer and manager
* 1969 –
Ravindra Prabhat, Indian writer and journalist
*
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 ...
–
Soheil Ayari, French race car driver
* 1970 –
Valérie Bonneton, French actress
* 1970 –
Diamond D, American hip hop producer
* 1970 –
Petar Genov, Bulgarian chess grandmaster
* 1970 –
Thea Gill, Canadian actress
* 1970 –
Miho Hatori
is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and musician. She is best known as a solo artist, co-founder of New York City band Cibo Matto, and as the first person to provide the voice of Noodle in the virtual band Gorillaz, as well as for her work with ...
, Japanese singer-songwriter
* 1970 –
Irina Timofeyeva, Russian long-distance runner
*
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
–
Dong Abay, Filipino singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1971 –
Krista Allen
Krista Allen (born April 5, 1971) is an American actress and model. Allen is known for playing Billie Reed in the soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' (1996–1999) and Taylor Hayes (The Bold and the Beautiful), Taylor Hayes on the soap opera ''The ...
, American actress
* 1971 –
Austin Berry, Costa Rican footballer
* 1971 –
Simona Cavallari, Italian actress
* 1971 –
Victoria Hamilton, English actress
* 1971 –
Nelson Parraguez, Chilean footballer
* 1971 –
Kim Soo-nyung, South Korean archer
*
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
–
Nima Arkani-Hamed
Nima Arkani-Hamed (; born April 5, 1972) is an Iranian-American-Canadian , American-Canadian theoretical physicist
* 1972 –
Tom Coronel
Tom Romeo Coronel (born 5 April 1972) is a Dutch professional racing driver. Tom's twin brother Tim Coronel, Tim is also a racer, just like their father Tom Coronel Sr. His most important results are winning the Masters of Formula 3, Marlboro Mast ...
, Dutch race car driver
* 1972 –
Paul Okon, Australian footballer and manager
* 1972 –
Duncan Spencer, English cricketer
* 1972 –
Yasuhiro Takemoto
was a Japanese animator and television and film director. He worked at Kyoto Animation for almost his entire animation career after joining the company in 1996 until his death in 2019.
Career
After graduating, he entered at the Yoyogi Animati ...
, Japanese animator and director (died 2019)
* 1972 –
Junko Takeuchi
is a Japanese actress and voice actress employed by Ogipro The Next Co. Inc. & BQMAP. Taking a well-trod path by many voice actresses, she often voices young male characters, with generally very quirky and goofy personalities. One of her most ...
, Japanese actress
*
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 ...
–
Élodie Bouchez, French-American actress
* 1973 –
Brendan Cannon, Australian rugby player
* 1973 – Lidia Trettel, Italian snowboarder
* 1973 – Pharrell Williams, American singer, songwriter and rapper
*
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
– Sandra Bagarić, Croatian opera singer and actress
* 1974 – Julien Boutter, French tennis player
* 1974 – Katja Holanti, Finnish biathlete
* 1974 – Oleg Khodkov, Russian handball player
* 1974 – Ariel López (footballer, born 1974), Ariel López, Argentine footballer
* 1974 – Lukas Ridgeston, Slovak actor and director
* 1974 – Vyacheslav Voronin, Russian high jumper
*1975 – Sarah Baldock, English organist and conductor
* 1975 – John Hartson, Welsh footballer and coach
* 1975 – Juicy J, American rapper and producer
* 1975 – Serhiy Klymentiev, Ukrainian ice hockey player
* 1975 – Caitlin Moran, English journalist, author, and critic
* 1975 – Marcos Vales, Spanish footballer
* 1975 – Shammond Williams, American basketball player and coach
*
1976
Events January
* January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
– Luis de Agustini, Uruguayan footballer
* 1976 – Péter Biros, Hungarian water polo player
* 1976 – Sterling K. Brown, American actor
* 1976 – Aleksei Budõlin, Estonian judoka
* 1976 – Simone Inzaghi, Italian footballer
* 1976 – Fernando Morientes, Spanish footballer and coach
* 1976 – Natascha Ragosina, Russian boxer
* 1976 – Henrik Stenson, Swedish golfer
* 1976 – Valeria Straneo, Italian long-distance runner
* 1976 – Indrek Tobreluts, Estonian biathlete
* 1976 – Anouska van der Zee, Dutch cyclist
*
1977
Events January
* January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
– Jonathan Erlich, Israeli tennis player
* 1977 – Trevor Letowski, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
* 1977 – Daniel Majstorović, Swedish footballer
*1978 – Dwain Chambers, British track sprinter
* 1978 – Marcone Amaral Costa, Qatari footballer
* 1978 – Tarek El-Said, Egyptian footballer
* 1978 – Jairo Patiño, Colombian footballer
* 1978 – Sohyang, South Korean singer
* 1978 – Stephen Jackson, American basketball player
* 1978 – Arnaud Tournant, French cyclist
* 1978 – Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
* 1978 – Günther Weidlinger, Austrian long-distance runner
*1979 – Vlada Avramov, Serbian footballer
* 1979 – Josh Boone (director), Josh Boone, American screenwriter and director
* 1979 – Song Dae-nam, South Korean judoka
* 1979 – Timo Hildebrand, German footballer
* 1979 – Imany, French singer
* 1979 – Barel Mouko, Congolese footballer
* 1979 – Cesare Natali, Italian footballer
* 1979 – Mitsuo Ogasawara, Japanese footballer
* 1979 – Alexander Resch, German luger
* 1979 – Andrius Velička, Lithuanian footballer
* 1979 – Dante Wesley, American football player
* 1979 – Chen Yanqing, Chinese weightlifter
*1980 – Matt Bonner, American basketball player
* 1980 – Alberta Brianti, Italian tennis player
* 1980 – Rafael Cavalcante, Brazilian mixed martial artist
* 1980 – David Chocarro, Argentinian baseball player and actor
* 1980 – Mike Glumac, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1980 – Mario Kasun, Croatian basketball player
* 1980 – Lee Jae-won (singer), Lee Jae-won, South Korean DJ and singer
* 1980 – Joris Mathijsen, Dutch footballer
* 1980 – Rasmus Quist Hansen, Danish rower
* 1980 – Odlanier Solís, Cuban boxer
*1981 – Matthew Emmons, American rifle shooter
* 1981 – Michael A. Monsoor, American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (died 2006)
* 1981 – Mariqueen Maandig, Filipino-American musician and singer-songwriter
* 1981 – Daba Modibo Keïta, Malian taekwondo athlete
* 1981 – Marissa Nadler, American musician
* 1981 – Tom Riley (actor), Tom Riley, English actor and producer
* 1981 – Mompati Thuma, Botswana footballer
* 1981 – Pieter Weening, Dutch cyclist
*1982 – Hayley Atwell, English-American actress
* 1982 – Matheus Coradini Vivian, Brazilian footballer
* 1982 – Thomas Hitzlsperger, German footballer
* 1982 – Kelly Pavlik, American boxer
* 1982 – Matt Pickens, American soccer player
* 1982 – Alexandre Prémat, French race car driver
* 1982 – Danylo Sapunov, Ukrainian-Kazakhstani triathlete
* 1982 – Hubert Schwab, Swiss cyclist
* 1982 – Marcel Seip, Dutch former footballer
*
1983
1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
– Jaime Castrillón, Colombian footballer
* 1983 – Jorge Andrés Martínez, Uruguayan footballer
* 1983 – Brock Radunske, Canadian-South Korean ice hockey player
* 1983 – Yohann Sangaré, French basketball player
* 1983 – Cécile Storti, French cross-country skier
* 1983 – Shikha Uberoi, Indian-American tennis player
*1984 – Marshall Allman, American actor
* 1984 – Aram Mp3, Armenian singer and comedian
* 1984 – Rune Brattsveen, Norwegian biathlete
* 1984 – Alexei Glukhov, Russian ice hockey player
* 1984 – Maartje Goderie, Dutch field hockey player
* 1984 – Darija Jurak, Croatian tennis player
* 1984 – Dejan Kelhar, Slovenian footballer
* 1984 – Dmitry Kozonchuk, Russian cyclist
* 1984 – Shin Min-a, South Korean actress
* 1984 – Jess Sum, Hong Kong actress
* 1984 – Peter Penz, Austrian luger
* 1984 – Samuele Preisig, Swiss footballer
* 1984 – Cristian Săpunaru, Romanian footballer
* 1984 – Fabio Vitaioli, San Marinese footballer
* 1984 – Kisho Yano, Japanese footballer
* 1984 – Saba Qamar, Pakistani actress-model
*1985 – Daniel Congré, French footballer
* 1985 – Erwin l'Ami, Dutch chess player
* 1985 – Jolanda Keizer, Dutch heptathlete
* 1985 – Sergey Khachatryan, Armenian violinist
* 1985 – Linas Pilibaitis, Lithuanian footballer
* 1985 – Jan Smeets, Dutch chess grandmaster
* 1985 – Kristof Vandewalle, Belgian cyclist
*1986 – Anna Sophia Berglund, American model and actress
* 1986 – Anzor Boltukayev, Chechen wrestler
* 1986 – Diego Chará, Colombian footballer
* 1986 – Charlotte Flair, American wrestler, author and actress
* 1986 – Róbert Kasza, Hungarian Modern pentathlete
* 1986 – Eetu Muinonen, Finnish footballer
* 1986 – Manuel Ruz, Spanish footballer
* 1986 – Albert Selimov, Azerbaijani boxer
*1987 – Max Grün, German footballer
* 1987 – Balázs Hárai, Hungarian water polo player
* 1987 – Anton Kokorin, Russian sprint athlete
* 1987 – Fyodor Kudryashov, Russian footballer
* 1987 – Etiënne Reijnen, Dutch footballer
*
1988 – Gerson Acevedo, Chilean footballer
* 1988 – Teresa Almeida, Angolan handball player
* 1988 – Quade Cooper, New Zealand-Australian rugby player and boxer
* 1988 – Jonathan Davies (rugby union, born 1988), Jonathan Davies, Welsh rugby union player
* 1988 – Gevorg Ghazaryan, Armenian footballer
* 1988 – Alisha Glass, American ex-indoor volleyball player
* 1988 – Vurğun Hüseynov, Azerbaijani footballer
* 1988 – Matthias Jaissle, German footballer and manager
* 1988 – Christopher Papamichalopoulos, Cypriot skier
* 1988 – Zack Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1988 – Pape Sy, French basketball player
* 1988 – Alexey Volkov (biathlete), Alexey Volkov, Russian biathlete
*1989 – Kader Amadou, Nigerien footballer
* 1989 – Yémi Apithy, Beninese fencer
* 1989 – Liemarvin Bonevacia, Dutch sprinter
* 1989 – Freddie Fox (actor), Freddie Fox, English actor
* 1989 – Emre Güral, Turkish footballer
* 1989 – Justin Holiday, American basketball player
* 1989 – Rachel Homan, Canadian curler
* 1989 – Lily James, English actress
* 1989 – Trevor Marsicano, American speed skater
* 1989 – Jonathan Rossini, Swiss footballer
* 1989 – Kiki Sukezane, Japanese actress
* 1989 – Sosuke Takatani, Japanese wrestler
*1990 – Amer Said Al-Shatri, Omani footballer
* 1990 – Alex Cuthbert, Welsh rugby player
* 1990 – Patrick Dangerfield, Australian footballer
* 1990 – Fredy Hinestroza, Colombian footballer
* 1990 – Chen Huijia, Chinese swimmer
* 1990 – Haruma Miura, Japanese actor and singer (died 2020)
* 1990 – Ismaeel Mohammad, Qatari footballer
* 1990 – Iryna Pamialova, Belarusian canoeist
* 1990 – Jakub Sedláček (ice hockey), Jakub Sedláček, Czech ice hockey player
* 1990 – Sercan Yıldırım, Turkish footballer
* 1990 – Género Zeefuik, Dutch footballer
*
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 ...
– Yassine Bounou, Moroccan footballer
* 1991 – Nathaniel Clyne, English footballer
* 1991 – Adriano Grimaldi, Italian-German footballer
* 1991 – Joël Mall, Swiss footballer
* 1991 – Guilherme dos Santos Torres, Brazilian footballer
*
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
– Emmalyn Estrada, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer
* 1992 – Shintaro Kurumaya, Japanese footballer
* 1992 – Kaveh Rezaei, Iranian footballer
* 1992 – Dmytro Ryzhuk, Ukrainian footballer
*1993 – Andreas Bouchalakis, Greek footballer
* 1993 – Maya DiRado, American swimmer
* 1993 – Laura Feiersinger, Austrian footballer
* 1993 – Benjamin Garcia, French rugby league player
* 1993 – Scottie Wilbekin, American-Turkish basketball player
*1994 – Mateusz Bieniek, Polish volleyball player
* 1994 – Edem Rjaïbi, Tunisian footballer
* 1994 – Richard Sánchez (footballer, born 1994), Richard Sánchez, Mexican footballer
*1995 – Viliame Kikau, Fijian rugby league player
* 1995 – Sei Muroya, Japanese footballer
* 1995 – Gleb Rassadkin, Belarusian footballer
* 1995 – Sebastian Starke Hedlund, Swedish footballer
*1996 – Nicolas Beer, Danish race car driver
* 1996 – Raouf Benguit, Algerian footballer
*1997 – Borja Mayoral, Spanish footballer
* 1997 – Dominik Mysterio, American wrestler
*
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
– Nathan Broadhead, Welsh football player
*
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
– Bobby Miller (baseball), Bobby Miller, American baseball player
*2001 – Johnny Beecher (ice hockey), Johnny Beecher, American ice hockey player
* 2001 – Felipe Peña, Argentine footballer
Deaths
Pre-1600
* 517 – Timothy I of Constantinople, Byzantine patriarch
* 582 – Eutychius of Constantinople, Byzantine patriarch
* 584 – Ruadán of Lorrha, Irish abbot
* 902 – Al-Mu'tadid, Abbasid caliph
*1168 – Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, English politician (born 1104)
*1183 – Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Provence, Ramon Berenguer III, Spanish count of Cerdanya and Provence
*1205 – Isabella I of Jerusalem, queen regnant of Jerusalem (born 1172)
*1258 – Juliana of Liège, Belgian canoness and saint
*1308 – Ivan Kőszegi, Hungarian baron and Oligarch (Kingdom of Hungary), oligarch
*1325 – Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer, Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron of Monthermer and Earl of Gloucester (born c. 1270)
*1419 – Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (born 1350)
*1431 – Bernard I, Margrave of Baden-Baden, Bernard I, margrave of Baden-Baden (born 1364)
*1512 – Lazzaro Bastiani, Italian painter (born 1429)
*1534 – Jan Matthys, Dutch anabaptist reformer
*1594 – Catherine of Palma, Spanish nun (born 1533)
1601–1900
*1612 – Diana Scultori, Italian engraver (born 1547)
*1617 – Alonso Lobo, Spanish composer (born 1555)
*1626 – Anna Koltovskaya, Russian tsarina
*1673 – François Caron, Belgian-French explorer and politician, 8th Governor of Formosa (born 1600)
*1679 – Anne Geneviève de Bourbon, French princess (born 1619)
*1684 – William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker, William Brouncker, English mathematician (born 1620)
* 1684 – Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein, Karl Eusebius, prince of Liechtenstein (born 1611)
*1693 – Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier, Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, French noblewoman (born 1627)
* 1693 – Philip William August, Count Palatine of Neuburg, Philip William August, German nobleman (born 1668)
*1695 – George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax, George Savile, English politician, Lord President of the Council (born 1633)
*1697 – Charles XI of Sweden, Charles XI, king of Sweden (born 1655)
*1704 – Christian Ulrich I, Duke of Württemberg-Oels, Christian Ulrich I, German nobleman and Duke of Württemberg-Oels (born 1652)
*1708 – Christian Heinrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach, Christian Heinrich, German prince and member of the House of Hohenzollern (born 1661)
*1709 – Roger de Piles, French painter, engraver, art critic and diplomat (born 1635)
*1712 – Jan Luyken, Dutch poet, illustrator and engraver (born 1649)
*1717 – Jean Jouvenet, French painter (born 1647)
*1723 – Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, Austrian architect, sculptor and historian (born 1656)
*
1735
Events
January–March
* January 2 – Alexander Pope's poem '' Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot'' is published in London.
* January 8 – George Frideric Handel's opera '' Ariodante'' is premièred at the Royal Opera House in Covent ...
– William Derham, English minister and philosopher (born 1657)
*1751 – Frederick I of Sweden, Frederick I, prince consort and king of Sweden (born 1676)
*1765 – Edward Young, English poet and author (born 1683)
*1767 – Princess Charlotte Wilhelmine of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, German princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (born 1685)
*1768 – Egidio Forcellini, Italian philologist (born 1688)
*
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 ...
– Marc-Antoine Laugier, Jesuit priest (born 1713)
*1794 – Georges Danton, French lawyer and politician, Ministry of Justice (France), French Minister of Justice (born 1759)
* 1794 – François Chabot, French politician (born 1756)
* 1794 – Camille Desmoulins, French journalist, lawyer, and politician (born 1760)
* 1794 – Fabre d'Églantine, French actor, dramatist, poet and politician (born 1750)
* 1794 – Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles, French judge and politician (born 1759)
* 1794 – Pierre Philippeaux, French lawyer (born 1754)
* 1794 – François Joseph Westermann, French general (born 1751)
*
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 ...
– Johann Christoph Gatterer, German historian (born 1727)
*
1804
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Haiti gains independence from France, and becomes the first black republic.
* February 4 – The Sokoto Caliphate is founded in West Africa.
* February 14 – The First Serbian uprising begins th ...
– Jean-Charles Pichegru, French general (born 1761)
*1808 – Johann Georg Wille, German engraver (born 1715)
*1830 – Richard Chenevix (chemist), Richard Chenevix, Irish chemist and playwright (born 1774)
*1831 – Pierre Léonard Vander Linden, Belgian entomologist (born 1797)
*
1842
Events
January–March
* January 6– 13 – First Anglo-Afghan War – Massacre of Elphinstone's army (Battle of Gandamak): British East India Company troops are destroyed by Afghan forces on the road from Kabul to Jalalabad, Afghan ...
– Shah Shuja Durrani, 5th Emir of Afghanistan (born 1785)
*
1852 – Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg, (born 1800)
*1861 – Ferdinand Joachimsthal, German mathematician (born 1818)
*
1862
Events
January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom annexes Lagos Island, in modern-day Nigeria.
* January 6 – Second French intervention in Mexico, French intervention in Mexico: Second French Empire, French, Spanish and British ...
– Barend Cornelis Koekkoek, Dutch artist (born 1803)
*1865 – Manfredo Fanti, Italian general (born 1806)
*1866 – Thomas Hodgkin, British physician (born 1798)
*1868 – Karel Purkyně, Czech painter (born 1834)
*
1871
Events January–March
* January 3 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Bapaume – Prussians win a strategic victory.
* January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...
– Paolo Savi, Italian geologist and ornithologist (born 1798)
*
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 ...
– Paul-Auguste-Ernest Laugier, French astronomer (born 1812)
*
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 ...
– Milivoje Blaznavac, Serbian soldier and politician (born 1824)
*
1882 – Pierre Guillaume Frédéric le Play, (born 1806)
*1888 – Vsevolod Garshin, Russian author (born 1855)
*
1891 – Johann Hermann Bauer, Austrian chess master (born 1861)
*
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 ...
– Joseph Bertrand, French mathematician, economist, and academic (born 1822)
* 1900 – Osman Nuri Pasha, Ottoman field marshal and the hero of the Siege of Plevna in 1877 (born 1832)
1901–present
*
1901 – Angelo Messedaglia, Italian social scientist and statistician (born 1820)
*
1902 – Hans Ernst August Buchner, German bacteriologist (born 1850)
*
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.
* ...
– Ernst Leopold, 4th Prince of Leiningen, Ernst Leopold, 4th Prince of Leiningen (born 1830)
* 1904 – Frances Power Cobbe, Irish writer (born 1822)
*
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, ...
– Eastman Johnson, American painter (born 1824)
*
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 ...
– Bernard Borggreve, German forestry scientist (born 1836)
*
1916
Events
Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...
– Maksim Kovalevsky, Russian sociologist (born 1851)
*1918 – George Tupou II, King of Tonga (born 1874)
* 1918 – Paul Vidal de La Blache, French geographer (born 1845)
*
1920
Events January
* January 1
** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.
** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...
– Laurent Marqueste, French sculptor (born 1848)
*
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 ...
– Alphons Diepenbrock, Dutch composer (born 1862)
* 1921 – Sophie Elkan, Swedish writer and translator (born 1853)
*
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 ' ...
– George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English archaeologist and businessman (born 1866)
*
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...
– Victor Hensen, German zoologist (born 1835)
*
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 ...
– Roy Kilner, English cricketer and soldier (born 1890)
* 1928 – Viktor Oliva, Czech painter and illustrator (born 1861)
*
1929
This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
– Francis Aidan Gasquet, English Benedictine monk (born 1846)
* 1929 – Ludwig von Sybel, German archeologist (born 1846)
*
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 ...
– María Blanchard, Spanish painter (born 1881)
*
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 ...
– Earl Derr Biggers, American novelist and playwright (born 1884)
* 1933 – Hjalmar Mellin, Finnish mathematician and functional theorist (born 1854)
*
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 ...
– Salvatore Di Giacomo, Italian poet, playwright, songwriter and fascist intellectual (born 1860)
* 1934 – Jiro Sato, Japanese tennis player (born 1908)
*
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 ...
– Achille Locatelli, Roman Catholic cardinal (born 1856)
* 1935 – Emil Młynarski, Polish conductor, violinist, composer, and pedagogue (born 1870)
* 1935 – Franz von Vecsey, Hungarian violinist and composer (born 1893)
*
1936
Events January–February
* January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House.
* January 28 – Death and state funer ...
– Chandler Egan, American golfer and architect (born 1884)
*
1937
Events
January
* January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua.
* January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...
– Gustav Adolf Deissmann, (born 1866)
* 1937 – José Benlliure y Gil, Spanish painter (born 1858)
*
1938
Events
January
* January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS).
* January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...
– Helena Westermarck, Finnish artist and writer (born 1857)
* 1938 – Verner Lehtimäki, Finnish revolutionary (born 1890)
*
1940
A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280.
Events
Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
*Janu ...
– Charles Freer Andrews, English-Indian priest, missionary, and educator (born 1871)
* 1940 – Robert Maillart, Swiss civil engineer (born 1872)
* 1940 – Jay O'Brien (bobsleigh), Jay O'Brien, American bobsledder (born 1883)
* 1940 – Song Zheyuan, Chinese general (born 1885)
*
1941
The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...
– Parvin E'tesami, Persian poet (born 1907)
* 1941 – Nigel Gresley, Scottish-English engineer (born 1876)
* 1941 – Franciszek Kleeberg, Polish general (born 1888)
*
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 ...
– Heinrich Borgmann, German officer (born 1912)
* 1945 – Karl-Otto Koch, German Schutzstaffel, SS officer (born 1897)
*
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 ...
– Vincent Youmans, American composer and producer (born 1898)
*
1947
It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Events
January
* January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...
– Bernhard Pankok, German painter, artist and architect (born 1872)
* 1947 – Elis Strömgren, Swedish-Danish astronomer (born 1870)
*
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) ...
– Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, American socialite and philanthropist (born 1874)
*
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025
* January 2 – Luis ...
– Erich Zeigner, Prime Minister of Saxony (born 1886)
*
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
– Hiroshi Yoshida, Japanese painter (born 1876)
*
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, ...
– Agnes Morton, British tennis player (born 1872)
*
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 ...
– Princess Märtha of Sweden, (born 1901)
* 1954 – Claude Delvincourt, French pianist and composer (born 1888)
*
1955 – Tibor Szele, Hungarian mathematician (born 1918)
*
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...
– William Titt, British gymnast (born 1881)
*
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...
– Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria (born 1884)
* 1958 – Ásgrímur Jónsson, Icelandic painter (born 1876)
* 1958 – Isidora Sekulić, Serbian writer (born 1877)
*
1961
Events January
* January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union.
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...
– Nikolai Kryukov (composer), Nikolai Kryukov, Russian composer (born 1908)
*
1962
The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War.
Events January
* January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
– Boo Kullberg, Swedish gymnast (born 1889)
*
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...
– Jacobus Oud, Dutch architect (born 1890)
*
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
– James Chapin, American ornithologist (born 1889)
* 1964 – Aloïse Corbaz, Swiss artist (born 1886)
* 1964 – Douglas MacArthur, American general (born 1880)
*
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
– Pedro Sernagiotto, Italian-Brazilian footballer (born 1908)
* 1965 – Sándor Szalay (figure skater), Sándor Szalay, Hungarian figure skater (born 1893)
*
1967
Events January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
– Mischa Elman, Ukrainian-American violinist (born 1891)
* 1967 – Johan Falkberget, Norwegian author (born 1879)
* 1967 – Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1890)
* 1967 – Herbert Johnston, British runner (born 1902)
*
1968
Events January–February
* January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously.
* January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
– Félix Couchoro, Togolese writer (born 1900)
* 1968 – Lajos Csordás, Hungarian footballer (born 1932)
* 1968 – Giuseppe Paris, Italian gymnast (born 1895)
*
1969
1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
– Alberto Bonucci, Italian actor and director (born 1918)
* 1969 – Rómulo Gallegos, Venezuelan novelist and politician (born 1917)
* 1969 – Ain-Ervin Mere, Estonian Schutzstaffel, SS officer (born 1903)
*
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 ...
– Louisa Bolus, South African botanist and taxonomist (born 1877)
* 1970 – Alfred Sturtevant, American geneticist and academic (born 1891)
* 1970 – Karl von Spreti, German diplomat (born 1907)
*
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
– José Cubiles, Spanish pianist and conductor (born 1894)
*
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
– Isabel Jewell, American actress and singer (born 1907)
*
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 ...
– David Murray (racing driver), David Murray, British race car driver (born 1909)
* 1973 – Alla Tarasova, Russian ballerina (born 1898)
*
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
– Bino Bini, Italian fencer (born 1900)
* 1974 – A. Y. Jackson, Canadian painter (born 1882)
*1975 – Tell Berna, American middle and long-distance runner (born 1891)
* 1975 – Victor Marijnen, Dutch politician (born 1917)
* 1975 – Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese general and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (born 1887)
* 1975 – Harold Osborn, American track and fielder (born 1899)
*
1976
Events January
* January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
– Howard Hughes, American pilot, engineer, and director (born 1905)
* 1976 – Wilder Penfield, American-Canadian surgeon and academic (born 1891)
* 1976 – Harry Wyld, British cyclist (born 1900)
*
1977
Events January
* January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
– Carlos Prío Socarrás, President of Cuba, (born 1903)
* 1977 – Yuri Zavadsky, Russian actor and director (born 1894)
*1981 – Émile Hanse, Belgian footballer (born 1892)
* 1981 – Bob Hite, American singer-songwriter (born 1945)
* 1981 – Pinchus Kremegne, French artist (born 1890)
*1982 – Abe Fortas, American lawyer and jurist (born 1910)
*
1983
1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
– Abd al-Quddus al-Ansari, Saudi Arabian historian, journalist and writer. (born 1907)
*1984 – Hans Lunding, Danish military officer (born 1899)
* 1984 – Giuseppe Tucci, Italian scholar of oriental cultures (born 1894)
*1986 – Manly Wade Wellman, American writer (born 1903)
*1987 – Leabua Jonathan, 2nd List of Prime Ministers of Lesotho, Prime Minister of Lesotho (born 1914)
*
1988 – Alf Kjellin, Swedish actor and director (born 1920)
*1989 – Frank Foss (athlete), Frank Foss, American pole vaulter (born 1895)
* 1989 – Karel Zeman, Czech director, artist, production designer and animator (born 1910)
*
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 ...
–
Sonny Carter, American soccer player, physician, and astronaut (born 1947)
* 1991 – Jay Miller (basketball), Jay Miller, American basketball player (born 1943)
* 1991 – Jiří Mucha, Czech journalist, writer and screenwriter (born 1915)
* 1991 – William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle, William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle (born 1909)
* 1991 – John Tower, American soldier, academic, and politician (born 1925)
*
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
– Takeshi Inoue (footballer), Takeshi Inoue, Japanese footballer (born 1928)
* 1992 – Molly Picon, American actress (born 1898)
* 1992 – Sam Walton, American businessman, founded Walmart and Sam's Club (born 1918)
*1993 – Divya Bharti, Indian actress (born 1974)
*1994 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1967)
*1995 – Nicolaas Cortlever, Dutch chess player (born 1915)
* 1995 – Emilio Greco, Italian sculptor and engraver (born 1913)
* 1995 – Christian Pineau, French Resistance fighter (born 1904)
*1996 – Charlene Holt, American actress (born 1928)
*1997 – Allen Ginsberg, American poet (born 1926)
*
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
– Charles Frank (physicist), Charles Frank, British theoretical physicist (born 1911)
* 1998 – Cozy Powell, English drummer (born 1947)
*
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
– Giulio Einaudi, Italian book publisher (born 1912)
*2000 – Heinrich Müller (footballer, born 1909), Heinrich Müller, Austrian footballer (born 1909)
* 2000 – Lee Petty, American race car driver (born 1914)
*2001 – Aldo Olivieri, Italian footballer (born 1910)
*2002 – Layne Staley, American singer-songwriter (born 1967)
* 2002 – Kim Won-gyun, North Korean composer and politician (born 1917)
*2003 – Keizo Morishita, Japanese painter (born 1944)
*2004 – Fernand Goyvaerts, Belgian footballer (born 1938)
* 2004 – Sławomir Rawicz, Polish lieutenant (born 1915)
* 2004 – Heiner Zieschang, German mathematician and academic (born 1936)
*2005 – Saul Bellow, Canadian-American novelist, essayist and short story writer, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1915)
* 2005 – Robert Borg, American military officer and equestrian (born 1913)
* 2005 – Chung Nam-sik, South Korean footballer (born 1917)
*2006 – Allan Kaprow, American painter and educator (born 1927)
* 2006 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (born 1940)
* 2006 – Yevgeny Seredin, Russian swimmer (born 1958)
* 2006 – Pasquale Macchi, Roman Catholic archbishop (born 1923)
*
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 ...
– Maria Gripe, Swedish journalist and author (born 1923)
* 2007 – Leela Majumdar, Indian author and academic (born 1908)
* 2007 – Werner Maser, German historian and journalist (born 1922)
* 2007 – Mark St. John, American guitarist (born 1956)
* 2007 – Thomas Stoltz Harvey, American pathologist (born 1912)
*2008 – Charlton Heston, American actor, director, and political activist (born 1923)
*
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
– I. J. Good, British mathematician (born 1916)
*
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 ...
– Vitaly Sevastyanov, Soviet cosmonaut and engineer (born 1935)
*2011 – Baruch Samuel Blumberg, American physician and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1925)
* 2011 – Ange-Félix Patassé, Central African politician (born 1937)
*2012 – Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, German designer (born 1935)
* 2012 – Pedro Bartolomé Benoit, Dominican Republican politician military officer (born 1921)
* 2012 – Jim Marshall (businessman), Jim Marshall, English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (born 1923)
* 2012 – Barney McKenna, Irish musician (born 1939)
* 2012 – Bingu wa Mutharika, Malawian economist and politician, 3rd President of Malawi (born 1934)
*2013 – Regina Bianchi, Italian actress (born 1921)
* 2013 – Piero de Palma, Italian tenor and actor (born 1924)
* 2013 – Nikolaos Pappas, Greek Navy admiral (born 1930)
*2014 – Alan Davie, Scottish saxophonist and painter (born 1920)
* 2014 – Mariano Díaz (cyclist), Mariano Díaz, Spanish cyclist (born 1939)
* 2014 – Peter Matthiessen, American novelist, short story writer, editor, co-founded ''The Paris Review'' (born 1927)
* 2014 – John Pinette, American comedian (born 1964)
* 2014 – José Wilker, Brazilian actor, director, and producer (born 1947)
*2015 – Fredric Brandt, American dermatologist and author (born 1949)
* 2015 – Juan Carlos Cáceres, Argentinian singer and pianist (born 1936)
*2016 – Koço Kasapoğlu, Turkish footballer (born 1936)
*2017 – Attilio Benfatto, Italian cyclist (born 1943)
* 2017 – Arthur Bisguier, American chess Grandmaster (born 1929)
* 2017 – Paul G. Comba, Italian-American computer scientist and astronomer (born 1926)
* 2017 – Makoto Ōoka, Japanese poet and literary critic (born 1931)
* 2017 – Paul O'Neill (producer), Paul O'Neill, American rock composer and producer (born 1956)
* 2017 – Tim Parnell, British race car driver (born 1932)
* 2017 – Memè Perlini, Italian actor and director (born 1947)
* 2017 – Atanase Sciotnic, Romanian sprint canoeist (born 1942)
* 2017 – Ilkka Sinisalo, Finnish ice hockey player (born 1958)
*
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
– Isao Takahata, Japanese director (born 1935)
*2019 – Sydney Brenner, South African biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1927)
*2021 – Paul Ritter (actor), Paul Ritter, English actor (born 1966)
*2022 – Nehemiah Persoff, Israeli-American actor (born 1919)
* 2022 – Jimmy Wang Yu, Taiwanese actor (born 1943)
* 2024 – C. J. Snare, American musician and songwriter (born 1959)
Holidays and observances
*Christian feast day:
**Albert of Montecorvino
**Saint Derfel, Derfel Gadarn
**Æthelburh of Kent
**Gerald of Sauve-Majeure
**Juliana of Liège
**Maria Crescentia Höss
**Beatification, Blessed Mariano de la Mata
**Pandita Mary Ramabai (Episcopal Church (USA))
**Ruadhán of Lorrha
**Vincent Ferrer
**April 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
*Cold Food Festival, held on April 4 if it is a leap year (China); and its related observances:
*Earliest day on which Sham el-Nessim can fall, while May 9 is the latest; celebrated on Monday after the Eastern Christianity, Orthodox Easter (Egypt)
*Children's Day (Palestinian territories)
*First Contact Day (International observance)
*Sikmogil (South Korea)
*Indian maritime history#National Maritime Day, National Maritime Day is observed in India, in commemoration of the first voyage of RMS Empress of India (1890), SS ''Loyalty'' of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd. in 1919.
* International Day of Conscience
Other
* April the Fifth (1929–1954), British Thoroughbred racehorse
* (ends 5 April)
References
External links
BBC: On This Day*
Historical Events on April 5
{{months
Days of April