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Pre-1600

*
904 __NOTOC__ Year 904 ( CMIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * July 29 – Sack of Thessalonica: A Muslim fleet, led by the Greek renegade Leo of Tripoli, appears outside ...
Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the
papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
from the deposed
antipope Christopher Christopher claimed the papacy from October 903 to January 904. Although he was listed as a legitimate pope in most modern lists of popes until the first half of the 20th century, the apparently uncanonical method by which he obtained the papacy ...
. * 946 – Caliph
al-Mustakfi Abu al-Qasim Abd Allah ibn Ali (11 November 908 – September/October 949), commonly known by his regnal name al-Mustakfi, was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 944 to 946. Al-Mustakfi was a younger son of Caliph al-Muktafi, and hence a riva ...
is blinded and deposed by
Mu'izz al-Dawla Ahmad ibn Buya (Persian language, Persian: احمد بن بویه, died April 8, 967), after 945 better known by his ''laqab'' of Mu'izz al-Dawla (, "Fortifier al-Dawla, of the Dynasty"), was the first of the Buyid emirs of Iraq (region), Iraq, ...
, ruler of the Buyid Empire. He is succeeded by
al-Muti Abū ʾl-Qāsim al-Faḍl ibn al-Muqtadir (; 913/14 – September/October 974), better known by his regnal name of al-Mutīʿ li-ʾllāh (), was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 946 to 974, ruling under the tutelage of the Buyid emirs. Al ...
as caliph of the
Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...
.


1601–1900

*
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 the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition () (December 1812 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation (), a coalition of Austrian Empire, Austria, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia, Russian Empire, Russia, History of Spain (1808– ...
: France engages Russia 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, ...
in the
Battle of Brienne The Battle of Brienne (29 January 1814) saw an Imperial French army led by Emperor Napoleon attack Prussian and Russian forces commanded by Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. After heavy fighting that went on into the nigh ...
. *
1819 Events January–March * January 2 – The Panic of 1819, the first major peacetime financial crisis in the United States, begins. * January 25 – Thomas Jefferson founds the University of Virginia. * January 29 – Si ...
Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British Colonial Office, colonial official who served as the List of governors of the Dutch East Indies, governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieut ...
lands on the island of
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
. *
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 ...
– "
The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a visit ...
" is published in ''
The Evening Mirror The ''New-York Mirror'' was a weekly newspaper published in New York City from ''1823 to 1842''. Founded by George Pope Morris and Samuel Woodworth, it was a prominent publication that focused on literature, the fine arts, and local news. It playe ...
'' in New York, the first publication with the name of the author,
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
. *
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 ...
Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...
introduces the
Compromise of 1850 The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 that temporarily defused tensions between slave and free states during the years leading up to the American Civil War. Designe ...
to the
U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...
. *
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 ...
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
issues a Warrant under the
Royal sign-manual The royal sign-manual is the signature of the sovereign, by the affixing of which the monarch expresses their pleasure either by order, commission, or warrant (law), warrant. A sign-manual warrant may be either an executive act (for example, an a ...
that establishes the
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 ...
to recognise acts of valour by
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
military personnel during the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
. *
1861 This year saw significant progress in the Unification of Italy, the outbreak of the American Civil War, and the emancipation reform abolishing serfdom in the Russian Empire. Events January * January 1 ** Benito Juárez captures Mexico Ci ...
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
is admitted as the 34th
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
. *
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 ...
– The Bear River Massacre: A detachment of California Volunteers led by Colonel
Patrick Edward Connor Patrick Edward Connor (March 17, 1820Rodgers, 1938, p. 1 – December 17, 1891) was an Irish American soldier who served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He is most notorious for his massacres against Native Americans dur ...
engage the
Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshon ...
at Bear River,
Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
, killing hundreds of men, women and children. *
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 ...
Karl Benz Carl (or Karl) Friedrich Benz (; born Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant; 25 November 1844 – 4 April 1929) was a German engine designer and automotive engineer. His Benz Patent-Motorwagen from 1885 is considered the first practical modern automo ...
patents the first successful
gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...
-driven automobile. *
1891 Events January * January 1 ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new African territories. * January 4 – The Earl of Zetland issues a ...
Liliuokalani is proclaimed the last monarch and only
queen regnant A queen regnant (: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning ...
of the
Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...
.


1901–present

*
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 ...
Charles Curtis Charles Curtis (January 25, 1860 – February 8, 1936) was the 31st vice president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 under President Herbert Hoover. He was the Senate Majority Leader from 1924 to 1929. An enrolled member of the Kaw Natio ...
of
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
becomes the first Native American
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
. *
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 ...
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...
:
Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the States of Mexico, Mexican state of Baja California. The city, which is the seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali, Cale ...
is captured by the
Mexican Liberal Party The Mexican Liberal Party (, PLM) was founded in August 1900 when engineer Camilo Arriaga published a manifesto entitled (Invitation to the Liberal Party). The invitation was addressed to Mexican liberals who were dissatisfied with the wa ...
, igniting the Magonista rebellion of 1911. *
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 ...
Ukrainian–Soviet War The Ukrainian–Soviet War () is the term commonly used in post-Soviet Ukraine for the events taking place between 1917 and 1921, nowadays regarded essentially as a war between the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Bolsheviks (Russian SFSR a ...
: The
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
, on its way to besiege
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, is met by a small group of military students at the Battle of Kruty. * 1918 – Ukrainian–Soviet War: An armed uprising organized by the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
in anticipation of the encroaching
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
begins at the Kiev Arsenal, which will be put down six days later. *
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 ...
– The first inductees into the
Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
are announced. *
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 ...
– Three trains on the Nishinari Line; present Sakurajima Line, in
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
, Japan, collide and explode while approaching
Ajikawaguchi Station is a train station on the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) Sakurajima Line (JR Yumesaki Line) in Konohana-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Station numbering was introduced in March 2018 with Ajikawaguchi being assigned station numbe ...
. One hundred and eighty-one people are killed. *
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 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 ...
: The first day of the
Battle of Rennell Island The took place on 29–30 January 1943. It was the last major naval battle, naval engagement between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Guadalcanal Campaign of World War II. It occurred in the South Pacific Area, ...
, is torpedoed and heavily damaged by Japanese bombers. *
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...
– World War II: Approximately 38 people are killed and about a dozen injured when the Polish village of Koniuchy (present-day Kaniūkai, Lithuania) is attacked by Soviet partisan units. * 1944 – World War II: In
Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
, Italy, the
Anatomical theatre of the Archiginnasio The Anatomical Theatre of the Archiginnasio is a hall once used for anatomy lectures and displays held at the medical school in Bologna, Italy that used to be located in the Archiginnasio of Bologna, Palace of the Archiginnasio, the first unified ...
is completely destroyed in an air-raid. *
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 ...
– The first
Melodifestivalen Melodifestivalen (; ) is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almo ...
is held at
Cirkus CirKus are a trip hop band formed by Burt Ford (Cameron McVey), Karmil (aka Matt Kent), Lolita Moon and Neneh Cherry. History DJ and producer Karmil was recruited by Burt Ford (Neneh's husband Cameron McVey) as an assistant recording engi ...
in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, Sweden. *
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 ...
EgyptAir Flight 741 crashes into the
Kyrenia Mountains The Kyrenia Mountains (; ) is a long, narrow mountain range that runs for approximately along the northern coast of the island of Cyprus. It is primarily made of hard crystalline limestone, with some marble. Its highest peak is Mount Selvili, ...
in
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
, killing 37 people. *
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 ...
Singapore cable car crash: Panamanian-registered
oil rig An oil rig is any kind of apparatus constructed for oil drilling. Kinds of oil rig include: * Drilling rig A drilling rig is an integrated system that Drilling, drills wells, such as oil or water wells, or holes for piling and other construc ...
, ''Eniwetok'', strikes the cables of the
Singapore Cable Car The Singapore Cable Car is a gondola lift in Singapore, providing an aerial link from Mount Faber (Faber Peak Singapore) on Singapore Island to the resort island of Sentosa across the Keppel Harbour. Opened on 15 February 1974, it was the s ...
system linking the mainland and
Sentosa Island Sentosa Island ( ), known mononymously as Sentosa, is an island located off the southern coast of Singapore's Singapore Island, main island. The island is separated from the main island of Singapore by a channel of water, the Keppel Harbour, a ...
, causing two cabins to fall into the water and killing seven people and leaving thirteen others trapped for hours. *
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 ...
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 ...
: Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making it the first
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
nation to do so. *
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 ...
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
: The
Battle of Khafji The Battle of Khafji was the first major ground engagement of the Gulf War. It took place in and around the Saudi Arabian city of Khafji, from 29 January to 1 February 1991. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who had already tried and failed to dr ...
, the first major ground engagement of the war, as well as its deadliest, begins between
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
and
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
. *
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 ...
– President
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
announces a "definitive end" to French
nuclear weapons testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of Nuclear explosion, their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to si ...
. *
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 ...
– Thousands of student protesters in
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, ...
storm parliament and demand that
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Abdurrahman Wahid Abdurrahman Wahid ( ; né ad-Dakhil, 7 September 1940 – 30 December 2009), more colloquially known as Gus Dur (), was an Indonesian politician and Islam in Indonesia, Islamic Kyai, religious leader who served as the fourth president of Indone ...
resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals. *
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 ...
– In his
State of the Union address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of most calendar years on the current condit ...
, President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
describes "regimes that sponsor terror" as an ''
Axis of evil The phrase "axis of evil" was first used by U.S. president George W. Bush and originally referred to Iran, Ba'athist Iraq, and North Korea. It was used in Bush's State of the Union address on January 29, 2002, less than five months after the ...
'', in which he includes
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
,
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 ...
and
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 ...
. *
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
– The first direct commercial flights from
mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
(from
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
) to
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
since 1949 arrived in
Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...
. Shortly afterwards, a
China Airlines China Airlines (CAL; zh, t=中華航空, poj=Tiong-hôa Hâng-khong, p=Zhōnghuá Hángkōng, first=t, c=, s=) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan). It is one of Taiwan's two major airlines, along with E ...
flight lands in
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
. *
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 ...
– An Egyptian court rules that people who do not adhere to one of the three government-recognised religions, while not allowed to list any belief outside of those three, are still eligible to receive government
identity document An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a documentation, document proving a person's Identity (social science), identity. If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). ...
s. *
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 ...
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 ...
Rod Blagojevich Rod R. Blagojevich ( ; born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nickname "Blago", is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Blagojevich previously worked ...
is removed from office following his conviction of several corruption charges, including solicitation of personal benefit in exchange for an appointment to the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
as a replacement for then- U.S. president-elect
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. *
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 ...
SCAT Airlines Flight 760 crashes near the Kazakh city of
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 ...
, killing 21 people. *
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 ...
Rojava conflict The Rojava Conflict, also known as the Rojava Revolution, is a political upheaval and military conflict taking place in northern Syria, known among Kurds as Syrian Kurdistan, Western Kurdistan or Rojava. During the Syrian civil war that began ...
: The
Afrin Canton Afrin Canton (; ; ) was one of the cantons of Rojava. Syria's Afrin District fell under the control of the People's Protection Units (YPG) around 2012 and an "Afrin Canton" (now Afrin Region) was declared in 2014. Afrin Canton in its latest form ...
declares its autonomy from the
Syrian Arab Republic Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
. *
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
– A gunman opens fire at the
Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City The Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City (, CCIQ; ) is an organization dedicated to meeting the spiritual, social and economic needs of the Muslim community residing in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Its main place of worship is the Great Mosq ...
, killing six people and wounding 19 others in a spree shooting. *
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
– Canadian
truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; an HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...
s and pedestrians gathered to rally and protest on
Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose ...
against Canadian COVID-19 restrictions, which caused traffic and closures around the city. *
2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
American Eagle Flight 5342 collided mid-air with a
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift military utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted a design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS ...
operated by the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
and crashed into the
Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
, killing all 67 people onboard both aircraft. *2025 – A chartered
Beechcraft 1900 The Beechcraft 1900 is a U.S made twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With customers favoring ...
crashes near the Unity oilfield in South Sudan, killing 20 people.


Births


Pre-1600

* 1455
Johann Reuchlin Johann Reuchlin (; 29 January 1455 – 30 June 1522), sometimes called Johannes, was a German Catholic humanist and a scholar of Greek and Hebrew, whose work also took him to modern-day Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and France. Most of Reuchlin's c ...
, German-born humanist and scholar (died 1522) *
1475 Year 1475 ( MCDLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 10 – Battle of Vaslui (Moldavian–Ottoman Wars): Stephen III of Moldavia defeats the Ottoman Empire, which is le ...
Giuliano Bugiardini, Italian painter (died 1555) * 1499
Katharina von Bora Katharina von Bora (; 29 January 1499? – 20 December 1552), after her wedding Katharina Luther, also referred to as "die Lutherin" ('the Lutheress'), was the wife of the German reformer Martin Luther and a seminal figure of the Protestant Ref ...
, wife of
Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...
; formerly a Roman Catholic nun (died 1552) *
1525 Year 1525 ( MDXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 21 – The Anabaptist Movement is born when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others ...
Lelio Sozzini Lelio Francesco Maria Sozzini (; 29 January 1525 – 4 May 1562), often known in English by his Latinized name Laelius Socinus ( ), was an Italian Renaissance humanist and theologian, and, alongside his nephew Fausto Sozzini, founder of the Non ...
, Italian humanist and reformer (died 1562) *
1584 Events January–March * January 11 – Sir Walter Mildmay is given a royal licence to found Emmanuel College, Cambridge in England. * January 16 – Roman Catholic priest George Haydock, imprisoned in the Tower of London ...
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange Frederick Henry (; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from his older half-brother's death on 23 April 1625 until his ...
(died 1647) *
1591 Events January–March * January 27 – Scottish schoolmaster John Fian becomes the first person to be executed after the North Berwick witch trials, following his conviction for the crime of witchcraft. Fian is taken to the Ca ...
Franciscus Junius, German pioneer philologist (died 1677)


1601–1900

*
1602 Events January–March * January 3 – Battle of Kinsale: The English defeat Irish rebels and their Spanish allies. (The battle happens on this date according to the Gregorian calendar used by the Irish and Spanish but on Thursday, 24 Dece ...
Countess Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg (died 1651) *
1632 Events January–March * January 8 – University of Amsterdam is established at the site of the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam. * January 31 – The dissection of a body for the benefit of medical students is carried o ...
Johann Georg Graevius, German scholar and critic (died 1703) *
1688 Events January–March * January 2 – Fleeing from the Spanish Navy, French pirate Raveneau de Lussan and his 70 men arrive on the west coast of Nicaragua, sink their boats, and make a difficult 10 day march to the city of Ocota ...
Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (; ; born Emanuel Swedberg; (29 January 168829 March 1772) was a Swedish polymath; scientist, engineer, astronomer, anatomist, Christian theologian, philosopher, and mysticism, mystic. He became best known for his book on the ...
, Swedish astronomer, philosopher, and theologian (died 1772) *
1711 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Sunday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January – Cary's Rebellion: The Lords Proprietor appoint Edward ...
Giuseppe Bonno Giuseppe Bonno (29 January 1711 – 15 April 1788) Michael Lorenz gives his first name as "Joseph" because Emperor Joseph I was his godfather; Lorenz also asserts that Bonno was born on 30 JanuaryHaydn Singing at Vivaldi's Exequies: An Ineradic ...
, Austrian composer (died 1788) *
1715 Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire in ...
Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Austrian organist and composer (died 1777) *
1717 Events January–March * January 1 – Count Carl Gyllenborg, the Swedish ambassador to the Kingdom of Great Britain, is arrested in London over a plot to assist the Pretender to the British throne, James Francis Edward Stuart. * J ...
Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army. Amherst is credited as the architect of Britain's successful campaig ...
, English field marshal and politician, 19th
Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...
(died 1797) * 1718Paul Rabaut, French pastor (died 1794) *
1737 Events January–March * January 5 – Spain and the Holy Roman Empire sign instruments of cession at Pontremoli in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in Italy, with the Empire receiving control of Tuscany and the Grand Duchy of Parm ...
Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In ...
, English-American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary (died 1809) *
1749 Events January–March * January 3 ** Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont. ** The first issue of ''Berlingske'', Denmark's oldest continually operating newspaper, i ...
Christian VII of Denmark Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was King of Denmark–Norway, Denmark and Norway and Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. He was affected by mental illness and ...
(died 1808) * 1754Moses Cleaveland, American general, lawyer, and politician, founded
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
(died 1806) *
1756 Events January–March * January 16 – The Anglo-Prussian alliance (1756)#Treaty, Treaty of Westminster is signed between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Prussia, guaranteeing the neutrality of the Electorate of Hanover, c ...
Henry Lee III Henry Lee III (January 29, 1756 – March 25, 1818) was an early American Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot and politician who served as the ninth Governor of Virginia and as the Virginia United States House of Representatives, Representa ...
, American general and politician, 9th
Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The Governor (United States), governor is head of the Government_of_Virginia#Executive_branch, executive branch ...
(died 1818) *
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 ...
Albert Gallatin Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin (January 29, 1761 – August 12, 1849) was a Genevan-American politician, diplomat, ethnologist, and linguist. Often described as "America's Swiss Founding Father", he was a leading figure in the early years ...
, Swiss-American ethnologist, linguist, and politician, 4th
United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
(died 1849) *
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 ...
Daniel Auber Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire. Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally whe ...
, French composer (died 1871) *
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 ...
Lemuel H. Arnold, American politician (died 1852) *
1801 Events January–March *January 1 ** The legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland is completed under the Act of Union 1800, bringing about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the abolition of the Parliament of Ir ...
Johannes Bernardus van Bree, Dutch violinist, composer, and conductor (died 1857) *
1810 Events January–March * January 1 – Major-General Lachlan Macquarie officially becomes Governor of New South Wales. * January 4 – Australian seal hunter Frederick Hasselborough discovers Campbell Island, in the Subantarctic. * J ...
Ernst Kummer Ernst Eduard Kummer (29 January 1810 – 14 May 1893) was a German mathematician. Skilled in applied mathematics, Kummer trained German army officers in ballistics; afterwards, he taught for 10 years in a '' gymnasium'', the German equivalent of h ...
, Polish-German mathematician and academic (died 1893) * 1810 – Mary Whitwell Hale, American teacher, school founder, and hymnwriter (died 1862) *
1843 Events January–March * January 3 – The '' Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms'' (海國圖志, ''Hǎiguó Túzhì'') compiled by Wei Yuan and others, the first significant Chinese work on the West, is published in China. * J ...
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 25th
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
(died 1901) *
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 ...
Karol Olszewski Karol Stanisław Olszewski (Polish pronunciation: ; 29 January 1846 – 24 March 1915) was a Polish chemist, mathematician, and physicist. Together with Zygmunt Wróblewski, in 1883 he was the first scientist in the world to liquify oxygen and ...
, Polish chemist, mathematician and physicist (died 1915) *
1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come to ...
Frederic Hymen Cowen Sir Frederic Hymen Cowen (29 January 1852 – 6 October 1935), was an English composer, conductor and pianist. Early years and musical education Cowen was born Hymen Frederick Cohen at 90 Duke Street, Kingston, Jamaica, the fifth and last ch ...
, Jamaican-English pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1935) *
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 ...
Henry Ward Ranger, American painter and academic (died 1916) *
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 ...
Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...
, Russian playwright and short story writer (died 1904) *
1861 This year saw significant progress in the Unification of Italy, the outbreak of the American Civil War, and the emancipation reform abolishing serfdom in the Russian Empire. Events January * January 1 ** Benito Juárez captures Mexico Ci ...
Florida Ruffin Ridley, American civil rights activist, teacher, editor, and writer (died 1943) *
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 ...
Frederick Delius file:Fritz Delius (1907).jpg, Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius (born Fritz Theodor Albert Delius; ; 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934) was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prospero ...
, English composer (died 1934) *
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 ...
Richard Arman Gregory, British astronomer (died 1952) *
1866 Events January * January 1 ** Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee. ** The last issue of the abolitionist magazine '' The Liberator'' is published. * January 6 – Ottoman troops clash ...
Romain Rolland Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...
, French historian, author, and playwright,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
laureate (died 1944) *
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 ...
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez Vicente Blasco Ibáñez (, 29 January 1867 – 28 January 1928) was a journalist, politician, and a bestselling Spanish novelist in various genres whose most widespread and lasting fame in the English-speaking world is from Hollywood films that ...
, Spanish journalist and author (died 1928) *
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 ...
John D. Rockefeller Jr., American businessman and philanthropist (died 1960) *
1876 Events January * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. *January 27 – The Northampton Bank robbery occurs in Massachusetts. February * Febr ...
Havergal Brian William Havergal Brian (29 January 187628 November 1972) was an English composer, librettist, and church organist. He is best known for having composed 32 symphonies—an unusually high number amongst his contemporaries—25 of them ...
, English composer (died 1972) *
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 ...
W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American actor, comedian, juggler and writer. His career in show business began in vaudeville, where he attained international success as a ...
, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (died 1946) *
1881 Events January * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The Chilean army ...
Alice Catherine Evans, American microbiologist (died 1975) *
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 ...
Juhan Aavik Juhan Aavik (29 January 1884, in Holstre, Kreis Fellin, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire – 26 November 1982, in Stockholm, Sweden) was an Estonian composer. Aavik studied music composition at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He ...
, Estonian-Swedish composer and conductor (died 1982) *
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 ...
Karl Freudenberg, German chemist (died 1983) *
1888 Events January * January 3 – The great telescope (with an objective lens of diameter) at Lick Observatory in California is first used. * January 12 – The Schoolhouse Blizzard hits Dakota Territory and the states of Montana, M ...
Sydney Chapman, English mathematician and geophysicist (died 1970) * 1888 –
Wellington Koo Koo Vi Kyuin (; January 29, 1888 – November 14, 1985), better known as V. K. Wellington Koo, was a Chinese diplomat, politician, and statesman of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China. Born in Shanghai, Koo studied at Colum ...
, Chinese statesman (died 1985) *
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 ...
Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; ; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; a ...
, German American film director, producer, writer, and actor (died 1947) *
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 ...
Muna Lee, American poet and author (died 1965)


1901–present

*
1901 December 13 of this year is the beginning of signed 32-bit Unix time, and is scheduled to end in January 19, 2038. Summary Political and military 1901 started with the unification of multiple British colonies in Australia on January ...
Allen B. DuMont Allen Balcom DuMont, also spelled Du Mont, (January 29, 1901 – November 14, 1965) was an American electronics engineer, scientist and inventor who improved the cathode-ray tube in 1931 for use in television receivers. Seven years later he manu ...
, American engineer and broadcaster, founded the
DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in ...
(died 1965) * 1901 –
E. P. Taylor Edward Plunket Taylor, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989), was a Canadians, Canadian business tycoon, investor, and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred horse racing, r ...
, Canadian businessman and horse breeder (died 1989) *
1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...
Barnett Newman Barnett Newman (January 29, 1905 – July 4, 1970) was an American painter. He has been critically regarded as one of the major figures of abstract expressionism, and one of the foremost color field painters. His paintings explore the sense ...
, American painter and etcher (died 1970) *
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 ...
Victor Mature Victor John Mature (January 29, 1913 – August 4, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include '' One Million B.C.'' (1940), '' My Darli ...
, American actor (died 1999) *
1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...
Bill Peet William Bartlett Peet (''né'' Peed; January 29, 1915 – May 11, 2002) was an American children's book illustrator and a story writer and animator for Walt Disney Animation Studios. Peet joined Disney in 1937 and worked first on ''Snow Wh ...
, American author and illustrator (died 2002) * 1915 – John Serry Sr., Italian-American concert accordionist and composer (died 2003) *
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 ...
Roy Markham, British plant virologist (died 1979) *
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 ...
John Raitt John Emmet Raitt (; January 29, 1917 – February 20, 2005) was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theatre. His most notable roles were Billy Bigelow in the original Broadway cast of ''Carousel'' and Curly ...
, American actor and singer (died 2005) *
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 Forsythe John Lincoln Forsythe ( Freund; January 29, 1918 – April 1, 2010) was an American stage, film/television actor, producer, narrator, drama teacher and philanthropist whose career spanned six decades. He also appeared as a guest on several t ...
, American actor (died 2010) *
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 ...
Paul Gayten, American R&B pianist, songwriter, producer, and record company executive (died 1991) *
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 ' ...
Paddy Chayefsky Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky (; January 29, 1923 – August 1, 1981) was an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing both adapted and original screenplays. He w ...
, American author and screenwriter (died 1981) * 1923 – Eddie Taylor, American electric blues guitarist and singer (died 1985) *
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 ...
Abdus Salam Mohammad Abdus Salam Salam adopted the forename "Mohammad" in 1974 in response to the anti-Ahmadiyya decrees in Pakistan, similarly he grew his beard. (; ; 29 January 192621 November 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist. He shared the 1 ...
, Pakistani-British 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 (died 1996) *
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 ...
Edward Abbey Edward Paul Abbey (January 29, 1927 – March 14, 1989) was an American author and essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues, criticism of public land policies, and anarchist political views. His best-known works include the nov ...
, American environmentalist and author (died 1989) *
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 ...
Joseph Kruskal Joseph Bernard Kruskal, Jr. (; January 29, 1928 – September 19, 2010) was an American mathematician, statistician, computer scientist and psychometrician. Personal life Kruskal was born to a Jewish family in New York City to a successful fu ...
, American mathematician and computer scientist (died 2010) *1928 –
Lee Shau-kee Lee Shau-kee (; 20 February 1928 – 17 March 2025) was a Hong Kong business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He was a real estate tycoon and majority owner of Henderson Land Development, a property conglomerate with interests in prop ...
, Hong Kong real estate billionaire (died 2025) *
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 ...
Elio Petri Eraclio Petri (29 January 1929 – 10 November 1982), commonly known as Elio Petri, was an Italian film and theatre director, screenwriter and film critic. The Museum of Modern Art described him as "one of the preeminent political and social ...
, Italian director and screenwriter (died 1982) *
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 ...
Leslie Bricusse Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films '' D ...
, English playwright and composer (died 2021) * 1931 –
Ferenc Mádl Ferenc Mádl (; 29 January 1931 – 29 May 2011) * : Collar of the Order of Merit (25 September 2002). References External links His biography at the website of the Office of the President of the Republic of HungaryRetrieved 2011-05-30 ...
, Hungarian academic and politician, 2nd
President of Hungary The president of Hungary, officially the president of the republicUnder the Basic Law, adopted in 2011, the official name of the state is simply Hungary; Before, the state was called the Republic of Hungary. However, the office is nonetheless ...
(died 2011) *
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 ...
Raman Subba Row, English cricketer and referee (died 2024) *
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 ...
Sacha Distel Alexandre "Sacha" Distel (29 January 1933 – 22 July 2004) was a French musician and singer who had hits with a cover version of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" in 1970, which reached No 10 in the UK Charts, " Scoubidou", and " The Good Lif ...
, French singer and guitarist (died 2004) *
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 ...
Alan Cowley, British chemist (died 2020) *
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 Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bassist. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases un ...
, American bass player (died 1983) * 1936 –
Veturi Veturi Sundararama Murthy (29 January 1936 – 22 May 2010), known mononymously by his surname Veturi, was an Indian poet and lyricist who is known for his works in Telugu literature and cinema. Veturi is a recipient of the National Film Award, ...
, Indian poet and songwriter (died 2010) *
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 ...
Jeff Clyne, British musician (died 2009) *
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 ...
Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and feminist, regarded as one of the major voices of the second-wave feminism movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literature, she ...
, Australian journalist and author * 1939 –
Jeanne Lee Jeanne Lee (January 29, 1939 – October 25, 2000) was an American jazz singer, poet and composer. Best known for a wide range of vocal styles she mastered, Lee collaborated with numerous distinguished composers and performers who included Gunte ...
, American jazz singer, poet and composer (died 2000) *
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 ...
Justino Díaz Justino Díaz (born January 29, 1940) is a Puerto Rican operatic bass-baritone. In 1963, Díaz won an annual contest held at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, becoming the first Puerto Rican to obtain such an honor and as a consequence, made ...
, Puerto Rican opera singer * 1940 –
Katharine Ross Katharine Juliet Ross (born January 29, 1940) is a retired American actress. Her accolades include an Academy Award nomination, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. An alumna of The Actors Workshop, Ross made her television debut in 19 ...
, American actress and author *
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 ...
Robin Morgan Robin Morgan (born January 29, 1941) is an American poet, writer, activist, journalist, lecturer and former child actor. Since the early 1960s, she has been a key Radical feminism, radical feminist member of the American Feminist movement, Wom ...
, American actress, journalist, and author * 1941 –
Gamini Jayawickrama Perera Mallawa Arachchige Gamini Jayawickrama Perera (, ; 29 January 1941 – 17 February 2024) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a United National Party member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka for the Kurunegala District between 1994 and 2020, and h ...
, Sri Lankan politician (died 2024) *
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 ...
Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez (born 29 January 1942) is a Cuban military officer, legislator, and former cosmonaut and the first person of African heritage in space. In 1980, as a member of the crew of Soyuz 38, he became the first Cuban citizen, t ...
, Cuban military officer, legislator and cosmonaut *
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 � ...
Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and television presenter, whose career spans over 60 years. Blackburn first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio Londo ...
, English radio and television host * 1943 – Pat Quinn, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2014) * 1943 –
Mark Wynter Mark Wynter (born Terence Sidney Lewis; 29 January 1943) is an English singer and actor, who had four Top 20 singles in the 1960s, including "Venus in Blue Jeans" and " Go Away Little Girl". He enjoyed a lengthy career from 1960 to 1968 as a p ...
, English singer and actor *
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 ...
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (; 29 January 1945 – 16 January 2022), often known by his initials IBK, was a Malian politician who served as the president of Mali from September 2013 to August 2020, when he was forced to resign in the 2020 Malian cou ...
, Malian academic and politician,
Prime Minister of Mali This is a list of prime ministers of Mali since the country gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day. The prime minister heads the Council of Ministers of Mali, Council of Ministers. A total of seventeen people have served as ...
(died 2022) * 1945 –
Tom Selleck Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations fo ...
, American actor and businessman *
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 ...
Geater Davis, American singer-songwriter (died 1984) * 1946 –
Bettye LaVette Bettye LaVette (born Betty Jo Haskins, January 29, 1946) is an American soul singer who made her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until 2005, when her album '' I've Got My Own Hell to Raise'' was released to widespre ...
, American singer-songwriter *
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 ...
Linda B. Buck, American biologist 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 * 1947 – David Byron, English singer-songwriter (died 1985) * 1947 – Marián Varga, Slovak organist and composer (died 2017) *
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) ...
Raymond Keene Raymond Dennis Keene (born 29 January 1948) is an English chess grandmaster, a FIDE International Arbiter, a chess organiser, and a journalist and author. He won the British Chess Championship in 1971 and was the first player from England t ...
, English chess player and author * 1948 –
Cristina Saralegui Cristina María Saralegui de Ávila (born Cristina María Saralegui Santamarina; January 29, 1948) is a Cuban-born American journalist, television personality, actress and talk show host of the Spanish-language eponymous show, '. Before her tele ...
, Cuban-American journalist, actress and talk show host * 1948 –
Marc Singer Marc Singer (born January 29, 1948) is a Canadian-American actor best known for his roles in the '' Beastmaster'' film series, as Mike Donovan in the original 1980s TV series '' V'', and as Matt Cantrell in ''Dallas''. Early life Singer was born ...
, Canadian-American 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 ...
Doris Davenport Doris Davenport, also known as Doris Jordan (January 1, 1917 – June 18, 1980) was an American actress in movies of the 1930s and early 1940s. Early years Davenport was born in Moline, Illinois, and lived in Davenport, Iowa, before s ...
, American poet and teacher * 1949 –
Tommy Ramone Thomas Erdelyi (born Tamás Erdélyi, ; January 29, 1949 – July 11, 2014), known professionally as Tommy Ramone, was an American musician. He was the drummer for the influential punk rock band the Ramones from its debut in 1974 to 1978, ...
, Hungarian-American drummer and producer (died 2014) *
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 Jillian Ann Jillian (born Ann Jura Nauseda; January 29, 1950) is an American former actress and singer whose career began as a child actress in 1960. She is best known for her role as the sultry waitress Cassie Cranston on the 1980s sitcom ''It's a Liv ...
, American actress and singer * 1950 – Miklós Vámos, Hungarian writer, novelist, screenwriter and translator *
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, ...
Pete Geren, American attorney and politician * 1952 – Tim Healy, British 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 ...
Teresa Teng Teng Li-Chun ( zh, t=鄧麗君, s=, p=Dèng Lìjūn; 29 January 1953 – 8 May 1995), commonly known as Teresa Teng, was a Taiwanese singer, television personality, musician, and philanthropist. Referred to by some as the "Honorific nicknames i ...
, Taiwanese singer (died 1995) * 1953 – Charlie Wilson, American singer-songwriter 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 ...
Terry Kinney Terry Kinney (born January 29, 1954) is an American actor and theater director, and a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, with Gary Sinise and Jeff Perry. Kinney is best known for his role as Tim McManus on HBO's prison drama ...
, American actor and director * 1954 –
Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...
, American talk show host, actress, and producer, founded
Harpo Productions Harpo Productions (or Harpo Studios) is an American multimedia Film production, production company (law), company founded by Oprah Winfrey and based in West Hollywood, California. The name "Harpo" is "Oprah" anadrome, spelled backwards, and it w ...
*
1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
Greg Ballard, American basketball player and coach (died 2016) * 1955 – John Tate, American boxer (died 1998) *
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 ...
Irlene Mandrell Ellen Irlene Mandrell (born January 29, 1956) is an American musician. She is the younger sister of country singers Barbara and Louise Mandrell. Irlene Mandrell first rose to prominence as a model for CoverGirl, and later gained national atten ...
, American musician, actress, and model * 1956 – Amii Stewart, American singer and dancer *
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 ...
Diane Delano Diane Delano (January 29, 1957 – December 13, 2024) was an American character actress. She was known for her numerous roles in films and television, such as Sergeant Barbara Semanski on the CBS television series ''Northern Exposure'' and Rober ...
, American actress (died 2024) * 1957 – Ron Franscell, American author and journalist *
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 ...
Judy Norton, American actress and theater director *
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 ...
Cho-liang Lin, Taiwanese-American musician * 1960 –
Greg Louganis Gregory Efthimios Louganis (; born January 29, 1960) is an American Olympic Diving (sport), diver who won gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics on the springboard and platform. He is the only man and the second ...
, American diver and author * 1960 –
Steve Sax Stephen Louis Sax (born January 29, 1960) is a retired American Major League Baseball player and coach. He played as a second baseman in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1994, celebrated as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers with whom he won ...
, American baseball player * 1960 –
Gia Carangi Gia Marie Carangi (January 29, 1960November 18, 1986) was an American supermodel, considered by some to be the first supermodel. In 2023, Harpers Bazaar ranked her 15th among the greatest supermodels in the 1980s. She was featured on the cover o ...
, American supermodel (died 1986) *
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 ...
Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwean businessman and philanthropist *
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 ...
Gauri Lankesh, Indian journalist and activist (died 2017) * 1962 –
Lee Terry Lee Raymond Terry (born January 29, 1962) is a former American politician and a senior law firm adviser. From 1999 to 2015, he served eight terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives for as a ...
, American politician and lawyer * 1962 –
Nicholas Turturro Nicholas Turturro Jr. (born January 29, 1962) is an American actor. Turturro is best known for his roles in New York City based films and on the television series '' Blue Bloods'' and ''NYPD Blue''. He has collaborated with director Spike Lee sin ...
, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter *
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 ...
Roddy Frame Roddy Frame (born 29 January 1964) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. He was the founder of the 1980s new wave band Aztec Camera and has undertaken a solo career since the group's dissolution. In November 2013, journalist Brian Do ...
, Scottish singer-songwriter and musician * 1964 –
Andre Reed Andre Darnell Reed (born January 29, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football for the Ku ...
, American football player *
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 ...
David Agus, American physician and author * 1965 –
Dominik Hašek Dominik Hašek (, ; born 29 January 1965) is a Czech former ice hockey goaltender who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), mostly for the Buffalo Sabres. Widely regarded as one of the best goaltenders in history, Hašek also p ...
, Czech ice hockey player *
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 ...
Sean Burke, Canadian ice hockey player and coach * 1967 –
Stacey King Ronald Stacey King (born January 29, 1967) is an American sports announcer and former National Basketball Association (NBA) center who won three consecutive championships with the Chicago Bulls from 1991 to 1993 while playing next to Michael J ...
, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster *
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 ...
Edward Burns Edward Fitzgerald Burns (born January 29, 1968) is an American actor and filmmaker. He rose to fame with '' The Brothers McMullen'' (1995), his low-budget independent film that became successful worldwide. His other film appearances include '' ...
, American actor, director, writer, and producer * 1968 –
Monte Cook Monte Cook (born January 29, 1968) is an American professional tabletop role-playing game designer and writer, best known for his work on ''Dungeons & Dragons''. Role-playing industry career Early years Cook has been a professional game d ...
, American game designer and writer * 1968 – Aeneas Williams, American football player *
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 ...
Sam Trammell Sam Trammell (born January 29, 1969) is an American actor, best known for his role as Sam Merlotte on the HBO fantasy drama series ''True Blood''. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as Richa ...
, American actor *
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 ...
Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. The accolades she has received include nominations for two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and an Independent Spirit Award. After appearing in tel ...
, American actress * 1970 – Jörg Hoffmann, German swimmer * 1970 –
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (born 29 January 1970) is an Indian politician, Olympic medallist in shooting and retired colonel in the Indian Army. He is serving as a cabinet minister at the Industry & Commerce, Youth Affairs & Sports Department ...
, Indian colonel and politician * 1970 –
Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the ...
, American politician, 62nd
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United ...
*
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 ...
Clare Balding Clare Victoria Balding (born 29 January 1971) is an English broadcast journalist and author. She currently presents programmes for BBC Sport and Channel 4, and previously for BT Sport. She also formerly presented ''Good Morning Sunday'' on BBC ...
, English broadcaster, journalist and author *
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, ...
Brian Wood, American writer, illustrator and graphic designer *
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 ...
Megan McArdle, American journalist * 1973 – Jason Schmidt, American baseball player *
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. ...
Sharif Atkins, American actor * 1975 –
Sara Gilbert Sara Gilbert (born Sara Rebecca Abeles; January 29, 1975) is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on ''Roseanne'' (1988–97; 2018), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and its sequel, ''The Co ...
, American actress, producer, and talk show host * 1975 – Kelly Packard, American actress *
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 ...
Justin Hartley Justin Scott Hartley (born January 29, 1977) is an American actor, television producer, and director. He has played Fox Crane on the NBC daytime soap opera '' Passions'' (2002–2006), Oliver Queen on the WB/ CW television series ''Smallvill ...
, American actor * 1977 – Sam Jaeger, American actor and screenwriter *
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 ...
Andrew Keegan, American actor * 1979 – Christina Koch, American engineer and astronaut *
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 ...
Jason James Richter, American actor and musician *
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 ...
Tenoch Huerta, Mexican actor * 1981 –
Jonny Lang Jon Gordon Langseth Jr. (born January 29, 1981), known as Jonny Lang, is an American blues, gospel, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded five albums that have charted on the top 50 of the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and won a ...
, American singer, songwriter and guitarist *
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his dynamic vocal performances that combine his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after ...
, American singer, songwriter and actor *
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 ...
Tim Gleason, American ice hockey 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 ...
Marc Gasol Marc Gasol Sáez (, ; born 29 January 1985) is a Spanish former professional basketball player who is the president of Bàsquet Girona of the Liga ACB. The Center (basketball), center is a two-time All-NBA Team member and a three-time NBA All-St ...
, Spanish basketball player * 1985 –
Isabel Lucas Isabel Lucas (born 29 January 1985) is an Australians, Australian actress, environmentalist and Model (person), model. She is best known for her roles in ''Home and Away'' (2003–06), ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' (2009), ''Daybreake ...
, Australian actress and model * 1985 –
Rag'n'Bone Man Rory Charles Graham (born 29 January 1985), known professionally as Rag'n'Bone Man, is an English singer. He is known for his deep baritone voice. His first hit single, "Human", was released in 2016, and his first album ''Human'' was released ...
, English singer-songwriter *
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...
Chris Bourque, American ice hockey player * 1986 – Thomas Greiss, German ice hockey player * 1986 – Jair Jurrjens, Curaçaoan baseball player *
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 ...
José Abreu, Cuban baseball player * 1987 – Alex Avila, American baseball player * 1987 – Jessica Burkhart, American author * 1987 – Vladimír Mihálik, Slovak ice hockey player *
1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...
Ayobami Adebayo, Nigerian author * 1988 –
Jake Auchincloss Jacob Daniel Auchincloss ( ; born January 29, 1988) is an American politician, businessman, and military officer serving as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 4th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, h ...
, American politician, businessman, and Marine veteran * 1988 –
Hank Conger Hyun Choi "Hank" Conger (born January 29, 1988) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current coach who serves as the assistant bench coach and catching coach for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). Conger wa ...
, American baseball player * 1988 – Shay Logan, English footballer *
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 ...
Mohamed Abou Gabal, Egyptian footballer * 1989 –
Kevin Shattenkirk Kevin Michael Shattenkirk (born January 29, 1989) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Tampa Ba ...
, American ice hockey player *
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 ...
Markel Brown DeMarious Markel Brown (born January 29, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Trieste of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. High school career Bro ...
, American basketball player * 1992 – Maxi Kleber, German basketball player *
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 ...
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu , known professionally as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (Hiragana: ), is a Japanese singer, model and tarento. Her public image is associated with Japan's ''kawaii'' and ''decora (style), decora'' culture, centered in the Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo. Ky ...
, Japanese singer *
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 ...
Joel Eriksson Ek, Swedish ice hockey player * 1997 – Jack Roslovic, American ice hockey 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 ...
Lee Dae-hwi Lee Dae-hwi (, born January 29, 2001), known mononymously as Daehwi, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, producer and television personality. He is a member of South Korean boy group AB6IX, and is known for his participation in the reality com ...
, South Korean singer *
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 ...
Jarell Quansah, English footballer


Deaths


Pre-1600

* 757
An Lushan An Lushan (; 20th day of the 1st month (19 February) 703 – 29 January 757) was a Chinese military general and rebel leader during the Tang dynasty and is primarily known for instigating the An Lushan Rebellion which devastated China and kill ...
, Chinese general (born 703) * 1119
Pope Gelasius II Pope Gelasius II (c. 1060/1064 – 29 January 1119), born Giovanni Caetani or Giovanni da Gaeta (also called ''Coniulo''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 January 1118 to his death in 1119. A monk of Monte C ...
(born 1060) *
1597 Events January–March * January 4 – Japan's Chancellor of the Realm, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, sends 26 European Christians, arrested on December 8, 1596, on a forced march from Kyoto to Nagasaki. * January 24 – Battle of Turnhout: M ...
Elias Ammerbach, German organist and composer (born 1530)


1601–1900

*
1647 Events January–March * January 2 – Chinese bandit leader Zhang Xianzhong, who has ruled the Sichuan province since 1644, is killed at Xichong County, Xichong by a Qing archer, after having been betrayed by one of his officer ...
Francis Meres Francis Meres (1565/1566 – 29 January 1647) was an English churchman and author. His 1598 commonplace book includes the first critical account of poems and plays by Shakespeare. Career Francis Meres was born in 1565 at Kirton Meres in the par ...
, English priest and author (born 1565) * 1678
Jerónimo Lobo Jerónimo Lobo (1595 – 29 January 1678) was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary. He took part in the unsuccessful efforts to convert Ethiopia from the native Ethiopian church to Roman Catholicism until the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1643. Afterw ...
, Portuguese missionary and author (born 1593) *
1706 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Monday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 26 ** War of Spanish Succession: The uprising by Bavarians aga ...
Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset (24 January 164329 January 1706) was an English politician, courtier and poet. Early life Sackville was born on 24 January 1643, son of Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset (1622–1677). His mother was th ...
, English poet and courtier (born 1643) *
1737 Events January–March * January 5 – Spain and the Holy Roman Empire sign instruments of cession at Pontremoli in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in Italy, with the Empire receiving control of Tuscany and the Grand Duchy of Parm ...
George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, (9 February 1666 – 29 January 1737), styled Lord George Hamilton from 1666 to 1696, was a British army officer and the first officer of the British Army to be ...
, Scottish-English field marshal and politician,
Colonial Governor of Virginia Some of those who held the lead role as governor of Virginia never visited the New World and governed through deputies resident in the colony. Others, such as Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, held the lead role for many years but were in Virgini ...
(born 1666) *
1743 Events January–March * January 1 – The Verendrye brothers, probably Louis-Joseph and François de La Vérendrye, become the first white people to see the Rocky Mountains from the eastern side (the Spanish conquistadors ...
André-Hercule de Fleury André-Hercule de Fleury (22 June or 26 June 165329 January 1743) was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, Bishop of Fréjus and as the chief minister of Louis XV. He was cre ...
, French cardinal (born 1653) *
1763 Events January–March * January 27 – The seat of colonial administration in the Viceroyalty of Brazil is moved from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro. * February 1 – The colonial authorities in the Province of North Carolin ...
Juan José Eguiara y Eguren Juan José Eguiara y Eguren (2 February 1696, Mexico City – 29 January 1763 Mexico City) was a Mexican Catholic scholar and bishop. He is the author of ''Bibliotheca mexicana'', "a pioneering bibliographical work for Mexico." Life Eguiara y E ...
, Mexican bishop and Catholic scholar (born 1696) * 1763 – Louis Racine, French poet (born 1692) *
1820 Events January–March *January 1 – A constitutionalist military insurrection at Cádiz leads to the summoning of the Spanish Parliament to meet on March 7, becoming the nominal beginning of the "Trienio Liberal" in History of Spain (1 ...
George III of the United Kingdom George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great ...
(born 1738) *
1829 Events January–March * January 19 – August Klingemann's adaptation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's '' Faust'' premieres in Braunschweig. * February 27 – Battle of Tarqui: Troops of Gran Colombia and Peru battle to a draw. * Marc ...
Paul Barras Paul François Jean Nicolas, Vicomte de Barras (; 30 June 1755 – 29 January 1829), commonly known as Paul Barras, was a French politician of the French Revolution, and the main executive leader of the Directory regime of 1795–1799. Earl ...
, French captain and politician (born 1755) *
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 ...
Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II, , English: ''Leopold John Joseph Francis Ferdinand Charles''. (3 October 1797 – 29 January 1870) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1824 to 1859. He married twice; first to Maria Anna of Saxony, and after her death in 1832, to Mari ...
(born 1797) *
1888 Events January * January 3 – The great telescope (with an objective lens of diameter) at Lick Observatory in California is first used. * January 12 – The Schoolhouse Blizzard hits Dakota Territory and the states of Montana, M ...
Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...
, English poet and illustrator (born 1812) *
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 Sisley Alfred Sisley (; ; 30 October 1839 – 29 January 1899) was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedic ...
, French-English painter (born 1839)


1901–present

*
1901 December 13 of this year is the beginning of signed 32-bit Unix time, and is scheduled to end in January 19, 2038. Summary Political and military 1901 started with the unification of multiple British colonies in Australia on January ...
Eugène Louis-Marie Jancourt, French bassoonist, composer and pedagogue (born 1815) *
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, ...
Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 15 November 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schlesw ...
(born 1818) *
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 ...
Édouard Rod, French-Swiss novelist (born 1857) *
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 ...
Herman Bang, Danish journalist and author (born 1857) *
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 ...
Sibylle von Olfers Sibylle von Olfers (8 May 1881, Königsberg – 29 January 1916) was a German art teacher and a nun who worked as an author and illustrator of children's books. In 1906 she published her best-known work, ''The Root Children'' (original title: ...
, German art teacher, author and nun (born 1881) *
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 ...
Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, (; 26 February 1841 – 29 January 1917) was a British statesman, diplomat and colonial administrator. He served as the British controller-general in Egypt during 1879, part of the international control whic ...
, British statesman, diplomat and colonial administrator (born 1841) *
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 ' ...
Elihu Vedder Elihu Vedder (26 February 183629 January 1923) was an American symbolist painter, book illustrator and poet from New York City. He is best known for his fifty-five illustrations for Edward FitzGerald's translation of '' The Rubaiyat of Omar Kh ...
, American symbolist painter, book illustrator and poet (born 1836) *
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 ...
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until t ...
, Scottish field marshal (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 ...
Jacques Bouhy, Belgian baritone (born 1848) * 1929 – Charles Fox Parham, American preacher and evangelist (born 1873) *
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 ...
Sara Teasdale, American poet (born 1884) *
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 ...
Fritz Haber Fritz Jakob Haber (; 9 December 1868 – 29 January 1934) was a German chemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for his invention of the Haber process, a method used in industry to synthesize ammonia from nitrogen gas and hydrog ...
, Polish-German chemist and engineer,
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 1868) * 1934 – Dukinfield Henry Scott, British botanist (born 1854) *
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 ...
Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh, American explorer (born 1853) *
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 ...
Edward Harkness, American philanthropist (born 1874) *
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 ...
Ioannis Metaxas Ioannis Metaxas (; 12 April 187129 January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who was dictator of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for the first four months of his tenure, and thereafter as th ...
, Greek general and politician, 130th
Prime Minister of Greece The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic (), usually referred to as the prime minister of Greece (), is the head of government of the Greece, Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Cabinet of Greece, Greek Cabinet. The officeholder's of ...
(born 1871) *
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 ...
William Allen White William Allen White (February 10, 1868 – January 29, 1944) was an American newspaper editor, politician, author, and leader of the Progressive movement. Between 1896 and his death, White became a spokesman for Middle America (United States), ...
, American journalist and author (born 1868) *
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 ...
Harry Hopkins Harold Lloyd Hopkins (August 17, 1890 – January 29, 1946) was an American statesman, public administrator, and presidential advisor. A trusted deputy to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hopkins directed New Deal relief programs before ser ...
, American businessman and politician, 8th
United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...
(born 1890) * 1946 – Sidney Jones, English conductor and composer (born 1861) *
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) ...
Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta Prince Aimone, 4th Duke of Aosta (''Aimone Roberto Margherita Maria Giuseppe Torino''; 9 March 1900 – 29 January 1948), was a prince of Italy's reigning House of Savoy and an officer of the Royal Italian Navy. The second son of Prince Eman ...
(born 1900) *
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 ...
James Bridie James Bridie (3 January 1888 in Glasgow – 29 January 1951 in Edinburgh) was the pseudonym of a Scottish playwright, screenwriter and physician whose real name was Osborne Henry Mavor.Daniel Leary (1982) ''Dictionary of Literary Biography: ...
, Scottish playwright, screenwriter and physician (born 1888) *
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 ...
Walter Conrad Arensberg, American art collector, critic and poet (born 1878) *
1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
Hans Hedtoft, Danish politician (born 1903) *
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 ...
H. L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...
, American journalist and critic (born 1880) *
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 ...
Pauline Smith, South African novelist, short story writer, memoirist and playwright (born 1882) *
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 ...
Mack Harrell, American operatic and concert baritone vocalist (born 1909) * 1960 – George S. Messersmith, American diplomat (born 1883) *
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 ...
Angela Thirkell Angela Margaret Thirkell (; , 30 January 1890 – 29 January 1961) was an English and Australian novelist. She also published one novel, ''Trooper to Southern Cross'', under the pseudonym Leslie Parker. Early life Angela Margaret Mackail was ...
, English novelist (born 1890) *
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 ...
Fritz Kreisler Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler (February 2, 1875 – January 29, 1962) was an Austrian-born American violinist and composer. One of the most noted violin masters of his day, he was known for his sweet tone and expressive phrasing, with marked por ...
, Austrian-American violinist and composer (born 1875) * 1962 –
William Francis Gray Swann W.F.G. Swann (August 29, 1884 – January 29, 1962) was an English physicist. Education He was educated at Brighton Technical College and the Royal College of Science, from which he obtained a B.Sc. in 1905. He worked as an assistant lect ...
, Anglo-American physicist (born 1884) *
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 ...
Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American Colloquialism, colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New E ...
, American poet and playwright (born 1874) *
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 ...
Vera Hall, American folk singer (born 1902) * 1964 –
Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake in ...
, American actor (born 1913) *
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 ...
Jack Hylton Jack Hylton (born John Greenhalgh Hilton; 2 July 1892 – 29 January 1965) was an English pianist, composer, band leader and impresario. Hylton rose to prominence during the British dance band era, being referred as the "British King of Jazz ...
, English pianist, composer, band leader and impresario (born 1892) *
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 ...
Pierre Mercure Pierre Mercure (21 February 1927 – 29 January 1966) was a Canadian composer, TV producer, bassoonist, and administrator. Mercure was born in Montreal. As a student at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal, he earned honour ...
, Canadian composer, TV producer, bassoonist and administrator (born 1927) *
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 ...
Harold Munro Fox, English zoologist (born 1889) *
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 ...
Allen Dulles Allen Welsh Dulles ( ; April 7, 1893 – January 29, 1969) was an American lawyer who was the first civilian director of central intelligence (DCI), and its longest serving director. As head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the ea ...
, American banker, lawyer, and diplomat, 5th
Director of Central Intelligence The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1946 to 2004, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Se ...
(born 1893) *1969 -
Max Weinreich Max Weinreich ( ''Maks Vaynraych''; , ''Meyer Lazarevich Vaynraykh''; 22 April 1894 – 29 January 1969) was a Russian- American-Jewish linguist, specializing in sociolinguistics and Yiddish, and the father of the linguist Uriel Weinreich, who ...
, Russian-American-Jewish linguist and cofounder of
YIVO YIVO (, , short for ) is an organization that preserves, studies, and teaches the cultural history of Jewish life throughout Eastern Europe, Germany, and Russia as well as orthography, lexicography, and other studies related to Yiddish. Estab ...
(born 1894) *
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 ...
Lawren Harris, Canadian painter (born 1885) * 1970 – B. H. Liddell Hart, French-English soldier, historian, and journalist (born 1895) *
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 ...
Johannes Paul Thilman, German composer (born 1903) *
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; ...
H. E. Bates Herbert Ernest Bates (16 May 1905 – 29 January 1974) was a British writer known for his gritty, realistic short stories (he wrote more than 25 collections) and novels set predominantly in early- to mid-20th century England. His rural u ...
, English writer (born 1905) *
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 ...
Jesse Fuller Jesse Fuller (March 12, 1896 – January 29, 1976) was an American one-man band musician, best known for his song "San Francisco Bay Blues". Early life Fuller was born in Jonesboro, Georgia, near Atlanta, United States. He was sent by his moth ...
, American one-man band musician (born 1896) *
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 ...
Johnny Franz John Charles Franz (23 February 1922 – 29 January 1977) was an English record producer and A&R man at the Philips label. He was one of Britain's most successful producers in the 1950s and 1960s. While his recordings encompassed several forms o ...
, English record producer and pianist (born 1922) * 1977 – Freddie Prinze, American comedian and actor (born 1954) *
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 ...
Tim McCoy Tim McCoy (April 10, 1891 – January 29, 1978) was an American actor, military officer, and expert on Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American Indian life. McCoy is most noted for his roles in B-grade Western films. As a popular cowboy ...
, American actor and military officer (born 1891) * 1978 –
Frank Nicklin Sir George Francis Reuben Nicklin, (6 August 1895 – 29 January 1978) was an Australian politician. He was the Premier of Queensland from 1957 to 1968, the first non- Labor Party premier since 1932. Early life and career Nicklin was born in M ...
, Australian politician, 28th
Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...
(born 1895) *
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 ...
Sonny Payne Sonny Payne (May 4, 1926 – January 29, 1979) was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with Count Basie and Harry James. Biography Payne's father was Wild Bill Davis's drummer Chris Columbus. After early study with Vic Berton, ...
, American jazz drummer (born 1926) *
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 ...
Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side New York accent, accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...
, American entertainer (born 1893) *
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 ...
Jack A. W. Bennett, New Zealander literary scholar (born 1911) * 1981 – John Glassco, Canadian poet, memoirist and novelist (born 1909) *
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
Rudolph Peters Sir Rudolph Albert Peters MC MID FRS HFRSE FRCP LLD (13 April 1889 – 29 January 1982) was a British biochemist. He led the research team at Oxford who developed British Anti-Lewisite (BAL), an antidote for the chemical warfare agent lewisite. ...
, British biochemist (born 1889) * 1982 –
Roger Stanier Roger Yate Stanier (22 October 1916 – 29 January 1982) was a Canadian microbiologist who was influential in the development of modern microbiology. As a member of the Delft School and former student of C. B. van Niel, he made important contribu ...
, Canadian microbiologist (born 1916) * 1982 – Charles Sykes, British physicist and metallurgist (born 1905) *
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 ...
Stuart H. Ingersoll, American naval aviator, USN vice admiral (born 1898) *
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
Frances Goodrich Frances Goodrich (December 21, 1890 – January 29, 1984) was an American actress, dramatist, and screenwriter, best known for her collaborations with her partner and husband Albert Hackett. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with her hu ...
, American actress, dramatist and screenwriter (born 1890) * 1984 – John Macnaghten Whittaker, British mathematician (born 1905) *
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 ...
Vincent R. Impellitteri, American politician and judge, 101st
Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...
(born 1900) *
1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...
James Rhyne Killian James Rhyne Killian Jr. (July 24, 1904 – January 29, 1988) was the 10th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from 1948 until 1959. He also held a number of government roles, such as Chair of the President's Intelligence A ...
, American educator, scientist and White House advisor (born 1904) *
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 ...
Morton DaCosta Morton DaCosta (March 7, 1914 – January 26, 1989) was an American theatre and film director, film producer, writer, and actor. Career Born Morton Tecosky in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, DaCosta began his career as an actor in the Broadway produ ...
, American theatre and film director, film producer, writer and actor (born 1914) *
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 ...
Yasushi Inoue was a Japanese writer of novels, short stories, poetry and essays, noted for his historical and autobiographical fiction. His most acclaimed works include '' The Bullfight'' (''Tōgyū'', 1949), ''The Roof Tile of Tempyō'' (''Tenpyō no iraka' ...
, Japanese author and poet (born 1907) *
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 ...
Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...
, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1915) *
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 ...
Adetokunbo Ademola Omoba Sir Adetokunbo Adegboyega Ademola (1 February 1906 – 29 January 1993) was a Nigerian jurist who was the Chief Justice of Nigeria from 1958 to 1972. He was appointed as Chief Justice on 1 April 1958, succeeding Sir Stafford Foster ...
, Nigerian lawyer and jurist, 2nd
Chief Justice of Nigeria The chief justice of Nigeria or CJN is the head of the judicial arm of the government of Nigeria, and presides over the country's Supreme Court and the National Judicial Council. The current chief justice is Kudirat Kekere-Ekun who was appoi ...
(born 1906) *
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 ...
Ulrike Maier Ulrike Maier (22 October 1967 – 29 January 1994) was a World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria, a two-time World Champion in super-G. She competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 1992 Winter Olympics. Born in Rauris, Salzburg, where her ...
, Austrian skier (born 1967) *
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 ...
Lili St. Cyr Marie Frances Van Schaack (June 3, 1917 – January 29, 1999), known professionally as Lili St. Cyr, was a prominent American burlesque dancer and stripper.. Early years St. Cyr was born Marie Frances Van Schaack in Minneapolis, Minnesota, o ...
, American model and dancer (born 1918) *
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 ...
Harold Russell Harold John Avery Russell (January 14, 1914 – January 29, 2002) was an American World War II veteran and actor. After losing his hands during his military service, Russell was cast in the epic drama film ''The Best Years of Our Lives'' (1946 ...
, Canadian-American soldier and actor (born 1914) *
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 ...
Frank Moss, American lawyer and politician (born 1911) *
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 ...
Janet Frame Janet Paterson Frame (28 August 1924 – 29 January 2004) was a New Zealand author. She is internationally renowned for her work, which includes novels, short stories, poetry, juvenile fiction, and an autobiography, and received numerous award ...
, New Zealand author and poet (born 1924) *
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
Ephraim Kishon Ephraim Kishon (; August 23, 1924 – January 29, 2005) was a Hungarian-born Israeli author, dramatist, screenwriter, and Academy Award, Oscar-nominated film director. He was one of the most widely read contemporary satire, satirists in Israel a ...
, Israeli author, screenwriter, and director (born 1924) *
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
Nam June Paik Nam June Paik (; July 20, 1932 – January 29, 2006) was a South Korean artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. He is credited with the first use (1974) of the term "electronic super highway" ...
, South Korean-American artist (born 1932) *
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 ...
Margaret Truman Mary Margaret Truman Daniel (February 17, 1924 – January 29, 2008) was an American classical soprano, actress, journalist, radio and television personality, writer, and New York socialite. She was the only child of President Harry S. Truman a ...
, American singer and author (born 1924) *
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 ...
Hélio Gracie Hélio Gracie (October 1, 1913 – January 29, 2009) was a Brazilian martial artist who together with his brothers Oswaldo, Gastao Jr, George and Carlos Gracie founded and developed the self-defense martial art system of Gracie jiu-jitsu, als ...
, Brazilian martial artist (born 1913) * 2009 –
John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums and received frequent critical acclaim. ...
, British singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1948) *
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 ...
Milton Babbitt Milton Byron Babbitt (May 10, 1916 – January 29, 2011) was an American composer, music theorist, mathematician, and teacher. He was a Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur Fellowship recipient, recognized for his serial and electronic music. Biography ...
, American composer, educator, and theorist (born 1916) *
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 ...
Ranjit Singh Dyal, Indian general and politician, 10th
Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (formerly known as "Pondicherry") is a Union Territory of India. Governance and administration of the territory fall under the federal authority. List of chief governing officers Commissioners * Fra ...
(born 1928) * 2012 –
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro Oscar Luigi Scalfaro (; 9 September 1918 – 29 January 2012) was an Italian politician who served as President of Italy from 1992 to 1999. A member of Christian Democracy (DC), he became an independent politician after the DC's dissolution in 1 ...
, Italian lawyer and politician, 9th
President of Italy The president of Italy, officially titled President of the Italian Republic (), is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity and guarantees that Politics of Italy, Italian politics comply with the Consti ...
(born 1918) * 2012 –
Camilla Williams Camilla Ella Williams (October 18, 1919 – January 29, 2012) was an American operatic soprano who performed nationally and internationally. After studying with renowned teachers in New York City, she was the first African American to receive a ...
, American soprano and educator (born 1919) *
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 ...
Colleen McCullough Colleen Margaretta McCullough (; married name Robinson, previously Ion-Robinson; 1 June 193729 January 2015) was an Australian author known for her novels, her most well-known being '' The Thorn Birds'' and '' The Ladies of Missalonghi''. Lif ...
, Australian neuroscientist, author, and academic (born 1937) * 2015 –
Rod McKuen Rodney Marvin McKuen ( ; ; April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015) was an American poet, singer-songwriter, and composer. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide ...
, American singer-songwriter and poet (born 1933) * 2015 – Alexander Vraciu, American commander and pilot (born 1918) *
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 ...
Jean-Marie Doré Jean-Marie Doré (12 June 1938 – 29 January 2016) was a Guinean politician who was the prime minister of Guinea from January 2010 until December 2010. Doré, who was the president of the Union for the Progress of Guinea (UPG), was an oppositio ...
, Guinean lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Guinea (born 1938) * 2016 –
Jacques Rivette Jacques Rivette (; 1 March 1928 – 29 January 2016) was a French film director and film critic most commonly associated with the French New Wave and the film magazine '' Cahiers du Cinéma''. He made twenty-nine films, including '' L'Amour fo ...
, French director, screenwriter, and critic (born 1928) *
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 ...
George Fernandes George Mathew Fernandes (3 June 1930 – 29 January 2019) was an Indian politician, trade unionist, statesman, and journalist, who served as the Minister of Defence (India), Defence Minister of India from 1998 until 2004. A veteran socialist, h ...
, Indian politician (born 1930) * 2019 –
James Ingram James Edward Ingram (February 16, 1952 – January 29, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Original Song. After beginning his career ...
, American musician (born 1952) *
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
Walker Boone Walker Boone, born Theodore "Ted" Nicoloff (May 4, 1944– January 29, 2021) was a Canadian actor. He was best known as the voice of the Nintendo character Mario in the DIC-produced animated series '' The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3'' and ...
, Canadian actor (born 1944) *
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
Howard Hesseman Howard Hesseman (February 27, 1940 – January 29, 2022) was an American actor known for his television roles as burned-out disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever on '' WKRP in Cincinnati'' and the lead role of history teacher Charlie Moore on '' Head ...
, American actor (born 1940) *
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 ...
Hazel McCallion Hazel Mary Muriel McCallion (; February 14, 1921 – January 29, 2023) was a Canadian politician who served as the fifth mayor of Mississauga. First elected in November 1978, McCallion was mayor for 36 years until her retirement in 2014, makin ...
, Canadian businesswoman and politician, 5th Mayor of Mississauga (born 1921) * 2023 – Will Steffen, American-Australian chemist (born 1947) * 2023 – Gero Storjohann, German politician (born 1958) *
2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
Salwan Momika, Iraqi refugee and anti-Islam activist (born 1986) * 2025 – Richard Williamson, British Catholic traditionalist bishop (born 1940) * 2025 – Victims in the 2025 Potomac River mid-air collision: **
Vadim Naumov Vadim Vladimirovich Naumov (; 7 April 1969 – 29 January 2025) was a Russian pair skater. With his wife Evgenia Shishkova, he was the 1994 world champion and the 1995–96 Champions Series Final champion. Naumov died on 29 January 2025, w ...
, Russian pair skater (born 1969) **
Evgenia Shishkova Evgenia Vasilievna Shishkova (; 18 December 1972 – 29 January 2025) was a Russian figure skating coach and competitor. With her husband Vadim Naumov, she was the 1994 world champion and the 1995–96 Champions Series Final champion. Shishk ...
, Russian pair skater and coach (born 1972)


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 ...
: **
Gildas Gildas (English pronunciation: , Breton language, Breton: ''Gweltaz''; ) — also known as Gildas Badonicus, Gildas fab Caw (in Middle Welsh texts and antiquarian works) and ''Gildas Sapiens'' (Gildas the Wise) — was a 6th-century Britons (h ...
** Sabinian of Troyes ** Sulpitius I of Bourges **
January 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Events Pre-1600 * 904 – Pope Sergius III, Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the pope, papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher. * 946 – Caliph al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Mu'izz ...
*Earliest day on which
Fat Thursday Fat Thursday is a Christian tradition in some countries marking the last Thursday before Lent and is associated with the celebration of Carnival. Because Lent is a time of fasting, the days leading up to Ash Wednesday provide the last opportuni ...
can fall, while March 4 is the latest; celebrated on Thursday before
Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...
. (
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
) *
Kansas Day Kansas Day is a holiday in the state of Kansas in the United States. It is celebrated annually on January 29 to commemorate the anniversary of the state's 1861 admission to the Union. It was first celebrated in 1877 by schoolchildren in Paola. ...
(
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
, United States)


References


External links


BBC: On This Day
*
Historical Events on January 29
{{months Days of January