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Events


Pre-1600

* 537 – The second
Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...
in Constantinople is consecrated. *
1512 Year 1512 (Roman numerals, MDXII) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 2 – Svante Nilsson (regent of Sweden), Svante Nilsson, regent of Sweden since 1504, dies at the a ...
– The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the conduct of settlers with regard to native Indians in the
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
. * 1521 – The Zwickau prophets arrive in
Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...
, disturbing the peace and preaching the
Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre originating in Judaism in the centuries following the Babylonian exile (597–587 BCE) but persisting in Christianity and Islam. In apocalypse, a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a ...
.


1601–1900

* 1655
Second Northern War The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...
/the
Deluge A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood. The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the biblical book of Genesis. Deluge or Le Déluge may also refer to: History *Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-L ...
: Monks at the
Jasna Góra Monastery The Jasna Góra Monastery ( , ''Luminous or Light Mountain'', ) in Częstochowa, Poland, is a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary and one of the country's places of pilgrimage. The image of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, also known as Ou ...
in
Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...
are successful in fending off a month-long siege. * 1657 – The
Flushing Remonstrance The Flushing Remonstrance was a 1657 petition to Director-General of New Netherland Peter Stuyvesant, in which some thirty residents of the small settlement at Flushing, Queens, Flushing requested an exemption to his ban on Religious Society of ...
articulates for the first time in North American history that
freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
is a fundamental right. * 1703 – Portugal and England sign the Methuen Treaty which allows Portugal to export
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
s to England on favorable trade terms. *
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 ...
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
: The destruction of the schooner brings to an end Commodore Daniel Patterson's makeshift fleet, which fought a series of delaying actions that contributed to
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
's victory at the
Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...
. * 1831
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
embarks on his journey aboard , during which he will begin to formulate his theory of
evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
. * 1836 – The worst ever
avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...
in England occurs at
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...
,
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
, killing eight people. * 1845
Ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group, a single oxygen atom bonded to two separate carbon atoms, each part of an organyl group (e.g., alkyl or aryl). They have the general formula , where R and R� ...
anesthetic is used for childbirth for the first time by Dr. Crawford Long in Jefferson, Georgia. * 1845 – Having coined the phrase "
manifest destiny Manifest destiny was the belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American pioneer, American settlers were destined to expand westward across North America, and that this belief was both obvious ("''m ...
" the previous July, journalist John L. O'Sullivan argued in his newspaper ''New York Morning News'' that the United States had the right to claim the entire
Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...
.


1901–present

*
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 ...
– " Jana Gana Mana", the
national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...
of India, is first sung in the Calcutta Session of the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
. *
1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...
– The Great Poland Uprising against the Germans begins. * 1918 – Ukrainian War of Independence: The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine occupies Yekaterinoslav and seizes seven airplanes from the UPRAF, establishing an Insurgent Air Fleet. * 1922 – becomes the first purpose-built
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...
to be commissioned in the world. *
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 ...
– Kern and Hammerstein's musical play ''
Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...
'', considered to be the first true American musical play, opens at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway. * 1929Soviet General Secretary
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
orders the " liquidation of the kulaks as a class". *
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 ...
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...
, "Showplace of the Nation", opens in New York City. *
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 ...
Regina Jonas is ordained as the first female
rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
in the history of
Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
. *
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 ...
– The 7.8 Erzincan earthquake shakes eastern
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). At least 32,700 people were killed. * 1939 –
Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...
: Finland holds off a
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 ...
attack in the Battle of Kelja. * 1945 – The
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
is created with the signing of an agreement by 29 nations. *
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 ...
Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution (), also known as the Indonesian War of Independence (, ), was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during A ...
: The Netherlands officially recognizes
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
n independence. End of the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
. *
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 ...
– The Cave of Swallows, the largest known cave shaft in the world, is discovered in
Aquismón Aquismón is a town and municipality in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí in central Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the U ...
,
San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...
, Mexico. * 1968
Apollo program The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which Moon landing, landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in sp ...
:
Apollo 8 Apollo 8 (December 21–27, 1968) was the first crewed spacecraft to leave Sphere of influence (astrodynamics), Earth's gravitational sphere of influence, and the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. The crew orbited the Moon ten times ...
splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, ending the first orbital crewed mission to the Moon. *1968 – North Central Airlines Flight 458 crashes at
O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...
, killing 28.
Copy at
Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is a private university focused on aviation and aerospace programs based in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, United States. It is the largest accredited university system specializing in ...
*
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
– Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of fascist
dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...
. *
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 ...
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
visits Mehmet Ali Ağca in Rebibbia's prison and personally forgives him for the 1981 attack on him in St. Peter's Square. *
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
Palestinian guerrillas kill eighteen people inside the airports of
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, Italy, and
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, Austria. *
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
– The
Romanian Revolution The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...
concludes, as the last minor street confrontations and stray shootings abruptly end in the country's capital,
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
. *
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 ...
Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 751 crashes in Gottröra in the
Norrtälje Municipality Norrtälje Municipality () is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the stad (Sweden), city of Norrtälje. It is the largest and northernmost municipality of Stockholm County a ...
in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, injuring 92. *
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
forces retake the strategic Bagram Airfield which solidifies their buffer zone around
Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. *
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
– Protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, United Kingdom. *
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 ...
Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...
and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission order a recall of plastic Poké Ball containers after they are determined to be a choking hazard. *
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
Two truck bombs kill 72 and wound 200 at the pro-Moscow headquarters of the Chechen government in
Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...
,
Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...
, Russia. *
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
Radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'' consisting of photons, such as radio waves, microwaves, infr ...
from an explosion on the
magnetar A magnetar is a type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field (~109 to 1011 T, ~1013 to 1015 G). The magnetic-field decay powers the emission of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, particularly X-rays and gamma rays.Ward; Br ...
SGR 1806-20 reaches Earth. It is the brightest extrasolar event known to have been witnessed on the planet. *
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 ...
– Former Pakistani
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...
is assassinated in a shooting incident. * 2007 – Riots erupt in Mombasa, Kenya, after
Mwai Kibaki Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki (15 November 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013. He served in various leadership positions in Kenya's government including ...
is declared the winner of the presidential election, triggering a political, economic, and humanitarian crisis. *
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
Operation Cast Lead: Israel launches three-week operation on Gaza. *
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 ...
Iranian election protests: On the Day of Ashura in
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, government security forces fire upon demonstrators. *
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
Bek Air Flight 2100 crashes during takeoff from Almaty International Airport in
Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...
,
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
, killing 13.


Births


Pre-1600

* 1350John I of Aragon (died 1395) * 1390
Anne de Mortimer Anne de Mortimer (27 December 1388 – 22 September 1411) was a medieval English noblewoman who became an ancestor to the royal House of York, one of the parties in the fifteenth-century dynastic Wars of the Roses. It was her line of descent w ...
, claimant to the English throne (died 1411) * 1459John I Albert,
King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...
(died 1501) * 1481Casimir, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Margrave of Bayreuth (died 1527) * 1493Johann Pfeffinger, German theologian (died 1573) * 1566Jan Jesenius, Bohemian physician, politician and philosopher (died 1621) * 1571
Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best know ...
, German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer (died 1630) * 1572Johannes Vodnianus Campanus, Czech poet, playwright, and composer (died 1622) * 1584Philipp Julius, Duke of Pomerania (died 1625) * 1595Bohdan Khmelnytsky, hetman of Ukraine (died 1657)


1601–1900

* 1622Teofil Rutka, Polish philosopher (died 1700) *
1633 Events January–March * January 20 – Galileo Galilei, having been summoned to Rome on orders of Pope Urban VIII, leaves for Florence for his journey. His carriage is halted at Ponte a Centino at the border of Tuscany, wher ...
Jean de Lamberville, French missionary (died 1714) * 1636William Whitelock, English gentleman, Member of Parliament (died 1717) * 1637Petar Kanavelić, Venetian writer (died 1719) * 1645Giovanni Antonio Viscardi, Swiss architect (died 1713)Fleming, John, et al. (1972) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture''; 2nd ed. Harmondsworth: Penguin; p. 301 * 1655Abstrupus Danby, English politician (died 1727) *
1660 Events January–March * January 1 ** At daybreak, English Army Colonel George Monck, with two brigades of troops from his Scottish occupational force, fords the River Tweed at Coldstream in Scotland to cross the Anglo-Scottish ...
Veronica Giuliani, Italian Capuchin mystic (died 1727)Pope Benedict XVI, "Saint Veronica Giuliani", General audience, December 15, 2010
''w2.vatican.va'', accessed 17 November 2019
* 1663Johann Melchior Roos, German painter (died 1731) * 1683Conyers Middleton, English priest and theologian (died 1750) * 1689Jacob August Franckenstein, Encyclopedia editor, professor (died 1733) *(baptised)
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 ...
Francis Blake Delaval, British Royal Navy officer and Member of Parliament (died 1752) * 1697Sollom Emlyn, Irish legal writer (died 1754) * 1705Prince Frederick Henry Eugen of Anhalt-Dessau, German prince of the House of Ascania (died 1781) * 1713Giovanni Battista Borra, Italian architect and engineer (died 1770) * 1714George Whitefield, English preacher and saint (died 1770) * 1715Philippe de Noailles, French general (died 1794) * 1721François Hemsterhuis, Dutch philosopher and author (died 1790) *(baptised) 1761Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Russian field marshal and politician, Governor-General of Finland (died 1818) * 1773
George Cayley Sir George Cayley, 6th Baronet (27 December 1773 – 15 December 1857) was an English engineer, inventor, and aviator. He is one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics. Many consider him to be the first true scientific ...
, English engineer and politician (died 1857) *
1776 Events January–February * January 1 – American Revolutionary War – Burning of Norfolk: The town of Norfolk, Virginia is destroyed, by the combined actions of the British Royal Navy and occupying Patriot forces. * January ...
Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (died 1811) * 1797Ghalib, Indian poet (died 1869) * 1797 –
Charles Hodge Charles Hodge (December 27, 1797 – June 19, 1878) was a Reformed Presbyterian theologian and principal of Princeton Theological Seminary between 1851 and 1878. He was a leading exponent of the Princeton Theology, an orthodox Calvinist theo ...
, American theologian (died 1878) *
1803 Events January–March * January 1 – The first edition of Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière's ''Almanach des gourmands'', the first guide to restaurant cooking, is published in Paris. * January 4 – William Symingt ...
François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier, Canadian activist (died 1839) *
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 ...
Alexandros Rizos Rangavis, Greek poet and politician, Foreign Minister of Greece (died 1892) *
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. ...
Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, Fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the la ...
, French chemist and microbiologist (died 1895) * 1823Mackenzie Bowell, English-Canadian journalist and politician, 5th
Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...
(died 1917) * 1827Stanisław Mieroszewski, Polish-born politician, writer, historian and member of the Imperial Council of Austria (died 1900) * 1832Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tretyakov Gallery (died 1897) * 1838Lars Oftedal, Norwegian priest, social reformer, politician, and newspaper editor (died 1900) * 1858Juan Luis Sanfuentes, Chilean lawyer and politician, 17th
President of Chile The president of Chile (), officially the president of the Republic of Chile (), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is responsible for both Government of Chile, government administration and s ...
(died 1930) * 1863Louis Lincoln Emmerson, American lawyer and politician, 27th
Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its we ...
(died 1941) *
1864 Events January * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song "Beautiful Dream ...
Hermann-Paul, French painter and illustrator (died 1940) *
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: ...
Kalle Korhonen, Finnish politician (died 1938) * 1879
Sydney Greenstreet Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (December 27, 1879 – January 18, 1954) was a British and American actor. While he did not begin his career in films until the age of 61, he had a run of significant motion pictures in a Hollywood career lasting t ...
, English-American actor (died 1954) * 1882Mina Loy, British modernist poet and artist (died 1966) * 1883Cyrus S. Eaton, Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist (died 1979) * 1888Thea von Harbou, German actress, director, and screenwriter (died 1954) * 1892Alfred Edwin McKay, Canadian captain and pilot (died 1917) * 1896Louis Bromfield, American author and theorist (died 1956) * 1896 – Maurice De Waele, Belgian cyclist (died 1952) * 1896 –
Carl Zuckmayer Carl Zuckmayer (27 December 1896 – 18 January 1977) was a German writer and playwright. His older brother was the pedagogue, composer, conductor, and pianist Eduard Zuckmayer. His first two dramas were failures. In 1929, he wrote the script ...
, German author and playwright (died 1977) * 1898Inejiro Asanuma, Japanese politician (died 1960) *
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 ...
Hans Stuck, German racing driver (died 1978)


1901–present

* 1901Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress and singer (died 1992) * 1901 – Irene Handl, English actress (died 1987) * 1904René Bonnet, French racing driver and engineer (died 1983) * 1905Cliff Arquette, American actor and comedian (died 1974) * 1906
Oscar Levant Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906August 14, 1972) was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor (music), conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian, and actor. He had roles in the films ''Rhapsody in Bl ...
, American pianist, composer, and actor (died 1972) *
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 ...
Asaf Halet Çelebi, Turkish poet (died 1958) * 1907 – Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (died 1999) * 1907 – Mary Howard, English author (died 1991) * 1907 – Conrad L. Raiford, American baseball player and activist (died 2002) * 1907 –
Willem van Otterloo Jan Willem van Otterloo (27 December 190727 July 1978) was a Dutch conductor, cello, cellist and composer. Biography Van Otterloo was born in Winterswijk, Gelderland, in the Netherlands, the son of William Frederik van Otterloo, a railway inspe ...
, Dutch conductor and composer (died 1978) * 1909James Riddell, English skier and author (died 2000) * 1910Charles Olson, American poet and educator (died 1970) *
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 ...
Anna Russell, English-Canadian singer and actress (died 2006) * 1913Elizabeth Smart, Canadian poet and novelist (died 1986) * 1915William Masters, American gynecologist, author, and academic (died 2001) * 1915 – Gyula Zsengellér, Hungarian-Cypriot footballer and manager (died 1999) * 1916Werner Baumbach, German pilot (died 1953) * 1916 – Cathy Lewis, American actress (died 1968) *
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 ...
Buddy Boudreaux, American saxophonist and clarinet player (died 2015) * 1917 – T. Nadaraja, Sri Lankan lawyer and academic (died 2004) * 1917 – Onni Palaste, Finnish soldier and author (died 2009) *
1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...
John Celardo, American captain and illustrator (died 2012) * 1919Charles Sweeney, American general and pilot (died 2004) * 1920Bruce Hobbs, American jockey and trainer (died 2005) * 1921John Whitworth, English countertenor (died 2013) * 1923Bruno Bobak, Polish-Canadian painter and educator (died 2012) * 1923 – Lucas Mangope, South African politician (died 2018) * 1924Jean Bartik, American computer scientist and engineer (died 2011) * 1924 – James A. McClure, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (died 2011) *
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 ...
Michel Piccoli, French actor, singer, director, and producer (died 2020) *
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 ...
Jerome Courtland, American actor, director, and producer (died 2012) *
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 ...
Antony Gardner, English engineer and politician (died 2011) * 1927 – Nityanand Swami, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Uttarakhand (died 2012) * 1927 – Audrey Wagner, American baseball player, obstetrician, and gynecologist (died 1984) * 1930Marshall Sahlins, American anthropologist and academic (died 2021) * 1930 – Wilfrid Sheed, English-born American novelist and essayist (died 2011) * 1931Scotty Moore, American guitarist and songwriter (died 2016) *
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 ...
Dave Marr David Francis Marr Jr. (December 27, 1933 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional golfer and sportscaster, best known for winning the 1965 PGA Championship. Early years Marr was born and raised in Houston, Texas, the son of a ...
, American golfer (died 1997) *
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 ...
Larisa Latynina Larisa Semyonovna Latynina (, née Diriy, Дирий; born 27 December 1934) is a Russian former artistic gymnast. Between 1956 and 1964 she won 14 List of multiple Olympic medalists, individual Olympic medals and four team medals for the Sovie ...
, Ukrainian gymnast and coach * 1934 – Jeffrey Sterling, Baron Sterling of Plaistow, English businessman *
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 ...
Michael Turnbull, English bishop *
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 ...
James Harrison, Australian blood plasma donor (died 2025) *1936 – Phil Sharpe, English cricketer (died 2014) * 1936 – Eve Uusmees, Estonian swimmer and coach *
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 ...
John Amos, American actor (died 2024) *
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 ...
David Shepherd, English cricketer and umpire (died 2009) * 1941Miles Aiken, American basketball player and coach * 1941 – Mike Pinder, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (died 2024) * 1941 – Nolan Richardson, American basketball player and coach *
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 ...
Byron Browne, American baseball player * 1942 – Thomas Menino, American politician, 53rd
Mayor of Boston The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a m ...
(died 2014) * 1942 – Ron Rothstein, American basketball player and coach *
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 � ...
Cokie Roberts, American journalist and author (died 2019) * 1943 – Joan Manuel Serrat, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist * 1943 – Peter Sinfield, English songwriter and producer (died 2024) * 1943 – Roy White, American baseball player and coach *
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 ...
Mick Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer *
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 ...
Lenny Kaye, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer * 1946 – Joe Kinnear, Irish footballer and manager (died 2024) * 1946 – Janet Street-Porter, English journalist and producer * 1946 – Polly Toynbee, English journalist and author *
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 ...
Bill Eadie William Reid Eadie (born December 27, 1947) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for performing under the ring names The Masked Superstar and Ax, the latter as part of Demolition (professional wrestling), Demolition. Early ...
, American wrestler and coach * 1947 – Doug Livermore, English footballer and manager * 1947 – Willy Polleunis, Belgian runner *
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) ...
Gérard Depardieu, French-Russian actor *
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 ...
Terry Ito, Japanese director, producer, and critic *
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 ...
Haris Alexiou, Greek singer-songwriter * 1950 –
Roberto Bettega Roberto Bettega (; born 27 December 1950) is an Italian former association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. A prolific and athletic player, Bettega is mostly remembered for his successful time at his ...
, Italian footballer and manager * 1950 – Terry Bozzio, American drummer and songwriter *
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 ...
Karla Bonoff, American singer-songwriter * 1951 – Ernesto Zedillo, Mexican economist and politician, 54th
President of Mexico The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...
*
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, ...
Jay Hill, Canadian farmer and politician * 1952 – David Knopfler, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer *
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 ...
Kent Benson, American basketball player * 1954 – Mandie Fletcher, English director, producer, and production manager * 1954 –
Teo Chee Hean Teo Chee Hean ( zh, s=张志贤, poj=Tioⁿ Chì-hiân, p=Zhāng Zhìxián, first=poj; born 27 December 1954) is a Singaporean former politician and two-star rear-admiral who served as Senior Minister of Singapore and Coordinating Minister for ...
, Singaporean politician and 5th Senior Minister of Singapore * 1955Brad Murphey, American race car driver * 1955 – Barbara Olson, American journalist and author (died 2001) *
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 ...
Doina Melinte, Romanian runner * 1958Steve Jones, American golfer * 1959Gerina Dunwich, American astrologer, historian, and author * 1959 – Andre Tippett, American football player and coach * 1960Maryam d'Abo, English actress * 1960 – Donald Nally, American conductor and academic * 1960 – Terry Price, Australian golfer * 1961Guido Westerwelle, German lawyer and politician, 15th
Vice-Chancellor of Germany The vice-chancellor of Germany, officially the deputy to the federal chancellor (), is the second highest ranking German cabinet member. The Chancellor of Germany, chancellor is the head of government and, according to the constitution, gives thi ...
(died 2016) *
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 ...
Mark Few, American basketball player and coach * 1962 – John Kampfner, Singaporean journalist and author * 1962 – Bill Self, American basketball player and coach * 1962 – Sherri Steinhauer, American golfer *
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 ...
Gaspar Noé, Argentine-French director and screenwriter * 1964Ian Gomez, American actor * 1964 – Theresa Randle, American actress *
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 ...
Salman Khan, Indian film actor and producer *
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 ...
Marianne Elliott, English director and producer * 1966 – Bill Goldberg, American football player, wrestler and actor * 1966 –
Eva LaRue Eva Maria LaRue (; born December 27, 1966) is an American actress and model. She is known for her roles as Maria Santos (All My Children), Maria Santos on ''All My Children'' and Det. Natalia Boa Vista on ''CSI: Miami''. Early life LaRue was b ...
, American model and actress * 1969Jean-Christophe Boullion, French racing driver * 1969 – Chyna, American professional wrestler and actress (died 2016) * 1969 – Sarah Vowell, American author and journalist * 1970 – Lorenzo Neal, American football player and radio host * 1970 – Naoko Yamazaki, Japanese pilot and astronaut *
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 ...
Duncan Ferguson, Scottish footballer and coach * 1971 – Guthrie Govan, English guitarist and educator * 1971 – Savannah Guthrie, American television journalist *
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, ...
Colin Charvis, Welsh rugby union player and coach * 1972 – Kevin Ollie, American basketball player and coach * 1972 – Matt Slocum, American guitarist and songwriter *
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 ...
Wilson Cruz, American actor * 1973 – Kristoffer Zegers, Dutch pianist and composer * 1974Tomáš Janků, Czech high jumper * 1974 – Masi Oka, Japanese-American actor and visual effects designer * 1974 – Fumiko Orikasa, Japanese voice actress and singer * 1974 – Jay Pandolfo, American ice hockey player and coach *
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
Aigars Fadejevs, Latvian race walker and therapist * 1975 – Heather O'Rourke, American actress (died 1988) *
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 ...
Nikolaos Georgeas, Greek footballer * 1976 – Piotr Morawski, Polish mountaineer (died 2009) * 1976 – Daimí Pernía, Cuban basketball player and hurdler * 1976 – Fernando Pisani, Canadian-Italian ice hockey player *
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 ...
Jacqueline Pillon, Canadian actress * 1977 – Chris Tate, English footballer *
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
Deuce McAllister, American football player * 1978 – Lisa Jakub, Canadian actress *
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
Pascale Dorcelus, Canadian weightlifter * 1979 – David Dunn, English footballer and manager * 1979 – Carson Palmer, American football player *
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
Bernard Berrian, American football player * 1980 – Claudio Castagnoli, Swiss wrestler * 1980 – Dahntay Jones, American basketball player * 1980 – Meelis Kompus, Estonian journalist *
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
David Aardsma, American baseball player * 1981 – Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress * 1981 – Jay Ellis, American actor * 1981 – Moise Joseph, American-Haitian runner * 1981 – Patrick Sharp, Canadian ice hockey player * 1982Erin E. Stead, American illustrator *
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 ...
Anthony Boric, New Zealand rugby union player * 1983 – Cole Hamels, American baseball player * 1983 – Jesse Williams, American high jumper * 1984Andrejs Perepļotkins, Ukrainian-Latvian footballer * 1984 – Gilles Simon, French tennis player *
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
Logan Bailly, Belgian footballer * 1985 – Jérôme d'Ambrosio, Belgian racing driver * 1985 – Adil Rami, French footballer * 1985 – Paul Stastny, Canadian-American ice hockey player * 1986Torah Bright, Australian snowboarder * 1986 – Jamaal Charles, American football player * 1986 – Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaican sprinter *
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
Lily Cole, English model * 1988Jorge Gutiérrez, Mexican basketball player * 1988 – Hera Hilmar, Icelandic actress * 1988 –
Zavon Hines Zavon Albert Hines (born 27 December 1988) is a football coach and former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger. He is currently assistant coach for the West Ham United F.C. Under-21s and Academy ...
, Jamaican-English footballer * 1988 – Ok Taec-yeon, South Korean singer and actor * 1988 – Rick Porcello, American baseball player * 1988 – Hayley Williams, American singer-songwriter *
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
Ingrid Várgas Calvo, Peruvian tennis player * 1990Max Lindholm, Finnish figure skater * 1990 – Jonathan Marchessault, Canadian ice hockey player * 1990 –
Milos Raonic Milos Raonic ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP ...
, Canadian tennis player * 1990 – Zelina Vega, American wrestler *
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 ...
Chloe Bridges, American actress * 1991 – Michael Morgan, Australian rugby league player * 1991 – Beth Potter, Scottish triathlete and long-distance runner * 1991 – Danny Wilson, Scottish 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 ...
Joel Indermitte, Estonian footballer * 1992 – Maicel Uibo, Estonian decathlete *
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
Olivia Cooke, English actress *
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
Isi Palazón, Spanish footballer *
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
Timothée Chalamet Timothée Hal Chalamet ( ; born December 27, 1995) is an American and French actor. List of awards and nominations received by Timothée Chalamet, His accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to ...
, French-American actor * 1995 – Nick Chubb, American football player * 1995 – Ghislain Konan, Ivorian footballer * 1995 – Mark Lapidus, Estonian chess player *
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
Mads Juel Andersen, Danish footballer * 1997 –
Vachirawit Chivaaree Vachirawit Chivaaree (; born 27 December 1997), professionally recognised as Bright Vachirawit or Bright (), is a Thai actor, singer and entrepreneur. He is known for his role in the film '' Love You To Debt'', '' Congrats My Ex!'', in series '' ...
, Thai actor and singer * 1997 – Ana Konjuh, Croatian tennis player * 1997 – Jang Gyu-ri, South Korean actress *
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 ...
Luka Garza, American basketball 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 ...
Brock Purdy, American football player *
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
Ander Barrenetxea, Spanish footballer


Deaths


Pre-1600

*
683 __NOTOC__ Year 683 (Roman numerals, DCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 683 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevale ...
Gaozong of Tang, 3rd emperor of the Chinese
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
(born 628) * 870Aeneas of Paris, Frankish bishop * 975Balderic, bishop of Utrecht (born 897) * 1003Emma of Blois, French duchess and regent * 1005Nilus the Younger, Byzantine abbot (born 910) *
1076 Year 1076 ( MLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * January 24 – Synod of Worms: Emperor Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, holds a synod in Worms (modern Germany). The assembly ...
Sviatoslav II, Grand Prince of Kiev (born 1027) * 1087Bertha of Savoy, Holy Roman Empress (born 1051) * 1381Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, English politician (born 1352) * 1518Mahmood Shah Bahmani II, sultan of the
Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Kingdom or the Bahmani Sultanate was a late medieval Persianate kingdom that ruled the Deccan plateau in India. The first independent Muslim sultanate of the Deccan, the Bahmani Kingdom came to power in 1347 during the rebellio ...
(born c. 1470) * 1543George, margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (born 1484) * 1548Francesco Spiera, Italian lawyer and jurist (born 1502)


1601–1900

* 1603Thomas Cartwright, English minister and theologian (born 1535) * 1637Vincenzo Giustiniani, Italian banker (born 1564) *
1641 Events January–March * January 4 – The stratovolcano Mount Parker (Philippines), Mount Parker in the Philippines has a major eruption. * January 14 – Battle of Malacca (1641), The Battle of Malacca concludes with the D ...
Francis van Aarssens, Dutch diplomat (born 1572) *
1642 Events January–March * January 4 – King Charles I of England, accompanied by soldiers, arrives at a session of the Long Parliament and attempts to arrest his chief opponents, the Five Members, John Hampden, Arthur Haselri ...
Herman op den Graeff, Dutch bishop (born 1585) * 1656Andrew White, English Jesuit missionary (born 1579) *
1660 Events January–March * January 1 ** At daybreak, English Army Colonel George Monck, with two brigades of troops from his Scottish occupational force, fords the River Tweed at Coldstream in Scotland to cross the Anglo-Scottish ...
Hervey Bagot, English politician (born 1591) * 1663Christine of France, Duchess of
Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...
(born 1606) * 1672Jacques Rohault, French philosopher (born 1618) * 1683Maria Francisca of Savoy, Queen consort of Portugal (born 1646) * 1689Gervase Bryan, English clergyman (born 1622) * 1693Henri de Villars, French prelate (born 1621) * 1694Henrik Span, naval officer in the Dutch (born 1634) * 1704Hans Albrecht von Barfus, Prussian field marshal and politician (born 1635) * 1707Jean Mabillon, French monk and scholar (born 1632) *1707 – Robert Leke, 3rd Earl of Scarsdale, English earl, politician (born 1654) * 1737William Bowyer, English printer (born 1663) * 1743Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter (born 1659) * 1771
Henri Pitot Henri Pitot (; May 3, 1695 – December 27, 1771) was a French hydraulic engineer and the inventor of the pitot tube. The incoming fluid in the internal tube may be blocked off where a pressure gauge can indicate the pressure, or fed to a clo ...
, French engineer, invented the
Pitot tube A pitot tube ( ; also pitot probe) measures fluid flow velocity. It was invented by French engineer Henri Pitot during his work with aqueducts and published in 1732, and modified to its modern form in 1858 by Henry Darcy. It is widely use ...
(born 1695) *
1776 Events January–February * January 1 – American Revolutionary War – Burning of Norfolk: The town of Norfolk, Virginia is destroyed, by the combined actions of the British Royal Navy and occupying Patriot forces. * January ...
Johann Rall, Hessian colonel (born ) * 1782
Henry Home, Lord Kames Henry Home, Lord Kames (1696–27 December 1782) was a Scottish writer, philosopher and judge who played a major role in Scottish Agricultural Revolution, Scotland's Agricultural Revolution. A central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, ...
, Scottish judge and philosopher (born 1697) * 1800Hugh Blair, Scottish minister and author (born 1718) * 1812Joanna Southcott, English religious leader (born 1750) * 1834
Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764� ...
, English essayist and poet (born 1775) * 1836Stephen F. Austin, American soldier and politician (born 1793) * 1858Alexandre Pierre François Boëly, French pianist and composer (born 1785) * 1895Eivind Astrup, Norwegian explorer (born 1871) * 1896John Brown, English businessman and politician (born 1816) *
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 ...
William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, (26 November 1810 – 27 December 1900) was an English engineer and industrialist who founded the Armstrong Whitworth manufacturing concern on Tyneside. He was also an eminent scientist, inventor and phi ...
, English engineer and businessman, founded
Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Tyne and Wear, Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomot ...
(born 1810)


1901–present

*
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 ...
Charles Martin Hall, American chemist and engineer (born 1863) * 1919Achilles Alferaki, Russian-Greek composer and politician, Governor of Taganrog (born 1846) * 1923
Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel ( , ; Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway net ...
, French architect and engineer, co-designed the
Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...
(born 1832) * 1924Agda Meyerson, Swedish nurse and healthcare activist (born 1866) *
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 ...
Mehmet Akif Ersoy, Turkish poet, academic, and politician (born 1873) *
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 ...
Calvin Bridges, American geneticist and academic (born 1889) * 1938 – Osip Mandelstam, Polish-Russian poet and critic (born 1891) * 1938 – Zona Gale, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (born 1874) *
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 ...
Rinaldo Cuneo, American painter (born 1877) *
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 � ...
Ants Kurvits, Estonian general and politician, 10th
Estonian Minister of War The Minister of Defence () is the senior government minister, minister at the Ministry of Defence (Estonia), Ministry of Defence () in the Council of Ministers of Estonia, Estonian Government. The minister is one of the most important members o ...
(born 1887) *
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 ...
Max Beckmann Max Carl Friedrich Beckmann (February 12, 1884 – December 27, 1950) was a German painter, drawing, draftsman, printmaker, sculpture, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the m ...
, German-American painter and sculptor (born 1884) *
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, ...
Patrick Joseph Hartigan, Australian priest, author, and educator (born 1878) *
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 ...
Şükrü Saracoğlu, Turkish soldier and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Turkey (born 1887) * 1953 – Julian Tuwim, Polish poet and author (born 1894) * 1955Alfred Carpenter, English admiral,
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
recipient (born 1881) *
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 ...
Lambert McKenna, Irish priest and lexicographer (born 1870) *
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 ...
Edgar Ende, German painter (born 1901) *
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, ...
Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian politician, diplomat, statesman, and scholar who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. He also served as Leader of the Liberal Party of C ...
, Canadian historian and politician, 14th
Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...
,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
laureate (born 1897) * 1974Vladimir Fock, Russian physicist and mathematician (born 1898) * 1974 – Amy Vanderbilt, American author (born 1908) *
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
Chris Bell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1951) * 1978 –
Houari Boumediene Houari is a given name and surname. It may refer to: Persons Given name *Houari Boumédiène, also transcribed Boumediene, Boumedienne etc. (1932–1978), served as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of Algeria from 19 June 1965 until 12 Decembe ...
, Algerian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Algeria (born 1932) * 1978 – Bob Luman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1937) *
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
Hafizullah Amin, Afghan educator and politician, 2nd General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (born 1929) *
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
Hoagy Carmichael, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (born 1899) * 1982
Jack Swigert John Leonard Swigert Jr. (August 30, 1931 – December 27, 1982) was an American NASA astronaut, test pilot, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, United States Air Force pilot, and politician. In April 1970, as command module pilot of A ...
, American pilot, astronaut, and politician (born 1931) *
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
Jean Rondeau, French racing driver (born 1946) * 1986George Dangerfield, English-American historian and journalist (born 1904) * 1986 – Dumas Malone, American historian and author (born 1892) *
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
Rewi Alley, New Zealand writer and political activist (born 1897) * 1988
Hal Ashby William Hal Ashby (September 2, 1929 – December 27, 1988) was an Cinema of the United States, American film Film director, director and Film editing, editor. His work exemplified the countercultural attitude of the era. He directed wide-rangi ...
, American director and producer (born 1929) *
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 ...
Kay Boyle, American novelist, poet, and educator (born 1902) *
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
Feliks Kibbermann, Estonian chess player and philologist (born 1902) * 1993 – Evald Mikson, Estonian footballer (born 1911) * 1993 – André Pilette, Belgian racing driver (born 1918) *
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
Fanny Cradock, English author and critic (born 1909) * 1994 – J. B. L. Reyes, Filipino lawyer and jurist (born 1902) *
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
Shura Cherkassky, Ukrainian-American pianist (born 1909) * 1995 – Genrikh Kasparyan, Armenian chess player and composer (born 1910) *
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
Brendan Gill Brendan Gill (October 4, 1914 – December 27, 1997) was an American journalist. He wrote for ''The New Yorker'' for more than 60 years. Gill also contributed film criticism for ''Film Comment'', wrote about design and architecture for Architectu ...
, American journalist and essayist (born 1914) * 1997 – Billy Wright, Northern Irish loyalist leader (born 1960) *
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 ...
Michael McDowell, American author and screenwriter (born 1950) *
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
George Roy Hill, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1921) *
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
Alan Bates, English actor (born 1934) * 2003 – Iván Calderón, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (born 1962) *
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
Hank Garland Walter Louis Garland (November 11, 1930 – December 27, 2004), known professionally as Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and release ...
, American guitarist (born 1930) *
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 ...
Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...
, Pakistani politician,
Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...
(born 1953) * 2007 – Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Polish director and screenwriter (born 1922) * 2007 – Jaan Kross, Estonian author and poet (born 1920) *
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
Delaney Bramlett Delaine Alvin "Delaney" Bramlett (July 1, 1939 – December 27, 2008) was an American singer and guitarist. He was best known for his musical partnership with his wife Bonnie Bramlett in the band Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, which included a ...
, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1939) * 2008 – Robert Graham, Mexican-American sculptor (born 1938) *
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 ...
Isaac Schwartz, Ukrainian-Russian composer and educator (born 1923) *
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
Catê, Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1973) * 2011 – Michael Dummett, English soldier, philosopher, and academic (born 1925) * 2011 – Helen Frankenthaler, American painter and educator (born 1928) * 2011 – Johnny Wilson, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (born 1929) *
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
Harry Carey, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1921) * 2012 – Lloyd Charmers, Jamaican singer, keyboard player, and producer (born 1938) * 2012 – Tingye Li, Chinese-American physicist and engineer (born 1931) * 2012 – Archie Roy, Scottish astronomer and academic (born 1924) * 2012 – Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., American general and engineer (born 1934) * 2012 – Salt Walther, American race car driver (born 1947) *
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
Richard Ambler, English-Scottish biologist and academic (born 1933) * 2013 – Mohamad Chatah, Lebanese economist and politician, Lebanese Minister of Finance (born 1951) * 2013 – Gianna D'Angelo, American soprano and educator (born 1929) * 2013 – John Matheson, Canadian colonel, lawyer, and politician (born 1917) * 2013 – Farooq Sheikh, Indian actor, philanthropist and a popular television presenter (born 1948) *
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
Ben Ammi Ben-Israel, American-Israeli religious leader, founded the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem (born 1939) * 2014 – Ulises Estrella, Ecuadorian poet and academic (born 1939) * 2014 – Ronald Li, Hong Kong accountant and businessman (born 1929) * 2014 –
Karel Poma Karel Emiel Hubert, Baron Poma (14 March 1920 – 27 December 2014) was a Belgium, Belgian liberal and politician for the Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang, PVV. He was a son of Carolus Poma, who was a lieutenant of the Antwerp fire brigade ...
, Belgian bacteriologist and politician (born 1920) *
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
Stein Eriksen, Norwegian-American skier (born 1927) * 2015 – Dave Henderson, American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1958) * 2015 – Ellsworth Kelly, American painter and sculptor (born 1923) * 2015 – Meadowlark Lemon, American basketball player and minister (born 1932) * 2015 – Alfredo Pacheco, Salvadoran footballer (born 1982) * 2015 – Stevie Wright, English-Australian singer-songwriter (born 1947) *
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the Star Wars original trilogy, original ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983) and reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The F ...
, American actress, screenwriter, author, producer, and speaker (born 1956) * 2016 – Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Sri Lankan politician (born 1933) *
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 ...
Frank Blaichman, Polish resistance fighter (born 1922) *
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
Maria Creveling, American ''League of Legends'' player (born 1995) *
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
Lee Sun-kyun, South Korean actor (born 1975) *2023 – Gaston Glock, Austrian firearm engineer and founder of Glock (born 1929) *
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
Greg Gumbel, American sportscaster (born 1946) *2024 – Olivia Hussey, Argentinian-English actress (born 1951) *2024 – Charles Shyer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1941)


Holidays and observances

* Christian
feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
: ** Blessed Francesco Spoto ** Blessed Sára Salkaházi ** Fabiola **
John the Apostle John the Apostle (; ; ), also known as Saint John the Beloved and, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Saint John the Theologian, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he ...
** Pope Maximus of Alexandria ** Nicarete ** Theodorus and Theophanes ** December 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) * Constitution Day (North Korea) * Emergency Rescuer's Day (Russia) *
Saint Stephen's Day Saint Stephen's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Stephen, is a Christian saint's day to commemorate Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr or protomartyr, celebrated on 26 December in Western Christianity and 27 December in Eastern Ch ...
(
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
; a public holiday in
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
) * The third of the Twelve Days of Christmas (
Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Protestantism, Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the O ...
)


References


External links


BBC: On This Day
*
Historical Events on December 27
{{months Days of December