Events
Pre-1600
*
69 –
Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his
Roman legion
The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military List of military legions, unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens serving as legionary, legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 i ...
s in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
to swear
allegiance to
Vespasian
Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...
as
Emperor
The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
.
*
552 –
Battle of Taginae
At the Battle of Taginae (also known as the Battle of Busta Gallorum) in June/July 552, the forces of the Byzantine Empire under Narses broke the power of the Ostrogoths in Italy, and paved the way for the temporary Byzantine reconquest of the It ...
:
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
forces under
Narses defeat the
Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...
in Italy, and the Ostrogoth king,
Totila, is mortally wounded.
*
1097 –
Battle of Dorylaeum:
Crusaders led by prince
Bohemond of Taranto defeat a
Seljuk army led by sultan
Kilij Arslan I.
*
1431 – The
Battle of La Higueruela takes place in
Granada
Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
, leading to a modest advance of the
Kingdom of Castile during the
Reconquista
The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...
.
*
1520 – Spanish
conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
s led by
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...
fight their way out of
Tenochtitlan
, also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear, but the date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th annivers ...
after nightfall.
*
1523 –
Jan van Essen and Hendrik Vos become the first
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
martyrs, burned at the stake by
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
authorities in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
.
*
1569 –
Union of Lublin
The Union of Lublin (; ) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the personal union of the Crown of the Kingd ...
: The Kingdom of Poland and the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
confirm a
real union; the united country is called the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
or the Republic of Both Nations.
1601–1900
*
1643 – First meeting of the
Westminster Assembly, a council of theologians ("divines") and members of the
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...
appointed to restructure the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
, at
Westminster Abbey in London.
*
1690 –
War of the Grand Alliance:
Marshal de Luxembourg triumphs over an Anglo-Dutch army at the
battle of Fleurus.
*
1690 –
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...
:
Battle of the Boyne in Ireland (as reckoned under the
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...
).
*
1766
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") becomes the new House of Stuart, Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain, as King Charles III, and figurehead for Jacobitism.
* Januar ...
–
François-Jean de la Barre, a young French nobleman, is tortured and beheaded before his body is burnt on a
pyre along with a copy of
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
's ''
Dictionnaire philosophique'' nailed to his torso for the crime of not saluting a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
religious procession in
Abbeville, France.
*
1770 –
Lexell's Comet is seen closer to the Earth than any other comet in recorded history, approaching to a distance of .
*
1782 –
Raid on Lunenburg: American
privateers attack the British settlement of
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
*
1819 –
Johann Georg Tralles discovers the
Great Comet of 1819, (C/1819 N1). It is the first comet analyzed using
polarimetry, by
François Arago
Dominique François Jean Arago (), known simply as François Arago (; Catalan: , ; 26 February 17862 October 1853), was a French mathematician, physicist, astronomer, freemason, supporter of the Carbonari revolutionaries and politician.
Early l ...
.
*
1823 – The five Central American nations of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica declare independence from the
First Mexican Empire
The Mexican Empire (, ) was a constitutional monarchy and the first independent government of Mexico. It was also the only former viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after gaining independence. The empire existed from 18 ...
after being
annexed the year prior.
*
1837 – A system of
civil registration of births, marriages and deaths is established in England and Wales.
*
1841 –
Thomas Lempriere and
James Clark Ross
Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of both the northern and southern polar regions. In the Arctic, he participated in two expeditions led by his uncle, Sir John Ross, John ...
carve a marker on the
Isle of the Dead in
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...
to measure tidal variations, one of the earliest surviving benchmarks for
sea level rise
The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...
.
*
1855 – Signing of the
Quinault Treaty: The
Quinault and the
Quileute cede their land to the United States.
*
1858 – Joint reading of
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
and
Alfred Russel Wallace's papers on
evolution
Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
to the
Linnean Society of London
The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript a ...
.
*
1862 – The
Russian State Library is founded as the Library of the Moscow Public Museum.
* 1862 –
Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, second daughter of Queen Victoria, marries Prince Louis of Hesse, the future
Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse.
* 1862 –
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
: The
Battle of Malvern Hill takes place. It is the last of the
Seven Days Battles, part of
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 186 ...
's
Peninsula Campaign.
*
1863 – Slavery was abolished in the Dutch colony of
Surinam, a date now celebrated as
Ketikoti in independent
Suriname
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
.
* 1863 – American Civil War: The
Battle of Gettysburg begins.
*
1867 – The
''British North America Act'' takes effect as the
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...
,
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
, and
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
join into confederation to create the modern nation of Canada.
John A. Macdonald is sworn in as the first
Prime Minister of Canada
The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...
. This date is commemorated annually in Canada as
Canada Day
Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A Public holidays in Canada, federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the B ...
, a national holiday.
*
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 ...
– The
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
formally comes into existence.
*
1873 –
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
joins into
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...
.
*
1874 – The
Sholes and Glidden typewriter, the first commercially successful
typewriter
A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...
, goes on sale.
*
1878 – Canada joins the
Universal Postal Union.
*
1879 –
Charles Taze Russell publishes the first edition of the religious magazine ''
The Watchtower
''The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom'', or simply known as The Watchtower, is an illustrated religious magazine, published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Jehovah's Witnesses distribute ''The Watchtower� ...
''.
*
1881 – The world's first international
telephone call
A telephone call, phone call, voice call, or simply a call, is the effective use of a connection over a telephone network between the calling party and the called party.
Telephone calls are the form of human communication that was first enabl ...
is made between
St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, and
Calais, Maine, United States.
* 1881 – General Order 70, the culmination of the
Cardwell and
Childers reforms of the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
, comes into effect.
*
1885 – The United States terminates
reciprocity and
fishery
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish far ...
agreement with Canada.
* 1885 – The
Congo Free State
The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (), was a large Sovereign state, state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold II, the const ...
is established by King
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was the second king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909, and the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908.
Born in Brussels as the second but eldest-surviving son of King Leo ...
.
*
1890
Events
January
* January 1 – The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony in the Horn of Africa.
* January 2 – Alice Sanger becomes the first female staffer in the White House.
* January 11 – 1890 British Ultimatum: The Uni ...
– Canada and
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is an ...
are linked by
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
cable.
*
1898 –
Spanish–American War
The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
: The
Battle of San Juan Hill is fought in
Santiago de Cuba,
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
.
1901–present
*
1901 – French government enacts its anti-clerical legislation ''Law of Association'' prohibiting the formation of new monastic orders without governmental approval.
*
1903 – Start of
first Tour de France bicycle race.
*
1908 –
SOS
SOS is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, originally established for maritime use. In formal notation SOS is written with an overscore line (), to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" a ...
is adopted as the international
distress signal.
*
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 ...
– Germany dispatches the gunboat to Morocco, sparking the
Agadir Crisis
The Agadir Crisis, Agadir Incident, or Second Moroccan Crisis, was a brief crisis sparked by the deployment of a substantial force of French troops in the interior of Morocco in July 1911 and the deployment of the German gunboat to Agadir, ...
.
*
1915 – ''
Leutnant''
Kurt Wintgens of the then-named German
''Deutsches Heer's'' ''Fliegertruppe'' army air service achieves
the first known aerial victory with a
synchronized machine-gun armed fighter plane, the
Fokker M.5K/MG ''Eindecker''.
*
1916 –
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
:
First day on the Somme: On the first day of the
Battle of the Somme 19,000 soldiers of the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
are killed and 40,000 wounded.
*
1917 –
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
: Russia launches
an offensive against
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
to capture
Galicia, its final offensive of the war.
*
1917 – Chinese General
Zhang Xun seizes control of
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 ...
and
restores the monarchy, installing
Puyi, last emperor of the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
, to the throne. The restoration is reversed just shy of two weeks later, when
Republican troops regain control of the capital.
*
1921 – The
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
is founded by
Chen Duxiu and
Li Dazhao, with the help of the Far Eastern Bureau of the
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks), who seized power in Russia after the 1917 October Revolution, and the Far Eastern Secretariat of the Communist International.
*
1922 – The
Great Railroad Strike of 1922 begins in the United States.
*
1923 – The
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada () is the Canadian federalism, federal legislature of Canada. The Monarchy of Canada, Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate of Canada, Senate and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, form the Bicameral ...
suspends all
Chinese immigration.
*
1924 – The
National War Memorial for the
Dominion of Newfoundland
Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the orig ...
was inaugurated by
Field Marshall Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig in
St. John's, Newfoundland. The date commemorates the first day of the
Battle of the Somme, where at
Beaumont-Hamel, 86 percent of the
Royal Newfoundland Regiment was wiped out.
[
]
*
1931 –
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...
begins service (as Boeing Air Transport).
* 1931 –
Wiley Post and
Harold Gatty become the first people to circumnavigate the globe in a
single-engined monoplane aircraft.
*
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 ...
– Australia's national broadcaster, the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
, was formed.
*
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...
–
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...
, police and
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...
ambush strikers participating in the
On-to-Ottawa Trek.
*
1942
The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...
–
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
:
First Battle of El Alamein.
* 1942 – The
Australian Federal Government becomes the sole collector of
income tax in Australia as State Income Tax is abolished.
*
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 � ...
– The
City of Tokyo and the
Prefecture of Tokyo are both replaced by the Tokyo Metropolis.
*
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 ...
–
Crossroads Able is the first postwar nuclear weapon test.
*
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 ...
– The
Philippine Air Force is established.
*
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) ...
–
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Quaid-i-Azam) inaugurates Pakistan's
central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...
, the
State Bank of Pakistan.
*
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 ...
– The merger of two princely states of India,
Cochin and
Travancore, into the state of
Thiru-Kochi (later re-organized as
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
) in the Indian Union ends more than 1,000 years of princely rule by the
Cochin royal family.
*
1957 – The
International Geophysical Year
The International Geophysical Year (IGY; ), also referred to as the third International Polar Year, was an international scientific project that lasted from 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War w ...
begins.
*
1958 – The
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...
links
television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
broadcasting across Canada via
microwave
Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300&n ...
.
* 1958 – Flooding of Canada's
Saint Lawrence Seaway begins.
*
1959 – Specific values for the international
yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...
,
avoirdupois pound and derived units (e.g. inch, mile and
ounce) are adopted after
agreement between the US, the United Kingdom and other
Commonwealth countries.
*
1960 – The
Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former
Italian Somaliland
Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...
) gains its independence from Italy. Concurrently, it unites as scheduled with the five-day-old
State of Somaliland
Somaliland, officially the State of Somaliland (), was an independent country in the territory of the present-day unilaterally declared Republic of Somaliland, which regards itself as its legal successor. It existed on the territory of former ...
(the former
British Somaliland
British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate (), was a protectorate of the United Kingdom in modern Somaliland. It was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Somali Coast and Ethiopian Empire, Abyssinia (Italian Ethiopia from 1936 ...
) to form the
Somali Republic.
* 1960 –
Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
becomes a
republic
A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
and
Kwame Nkrumah
Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...
becomes its first
President as Queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
ceases to be its
head of state
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
.
*
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 ...
– Independence of
Rwanda
Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
and
Burundi
Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...
.
*
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 ...
–
ZIP codes are introduced for
United States mail.
* 1963 – The British Government admits that former diplomat
Kim Philby had worked as a
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
agent.
*
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
– The first
color television
Color television (American English) or colour television (British English) is a television transmission technology that also includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improv ...
transmission in Canada takes place from Toronto.
*1966 – The
People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (The known as the 2nd Artillery Corps) is founded.
*
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 ...
–
Merger Treaty: The
European Community is formally created out of a merger between the
Common Market, the
European Coal and Steel Community
The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to integrate Europe's coal and steel industries into a single common market based on the principle of supranationalism which would be governe ...
, and the
European Atomic Energy Commission.
*
1968 – The United States
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
's
Phoenix Program is officially established.
* 1968 – The
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperatio ...
is signed in
Washington, D.C.,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
by sixty-two countries.
* 1968 – Formal separation of the
United Auto Workers
The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...
from the
AFL–CIO in the United States.
*
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, ...
– The first
Gay pride
In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, Social equality, equality, and increas ...
march in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
takes place.
*
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 ...
– Portugal grants autonomy to
Madeira
Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...
.
*
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 ...
– The Northern Territory in Australia is granted self-government.
*1979 – Sony introduces the Walkman.
*1980 – "O Canada" officially becomes the national anthem of Canada.
*1983 – A North Korean Ilyushin Il-62, Ilyushin Il-62M jet en route to Conakry Airport in Guinea 1983 CAAK Ilyushin Il-62 crash, crashes into the Fouta Djallon mountains in Guinea-Bissau, killing all 23 people on board.
*1983 – The Ministry of State Security (China), Ministry of State Security is established as China's principal intelligence agency
*1984 – The Motion Picture Association film rating system, PG-13 rating is introduced by the Motion Picture Association, MPAA.
*1987 – The American radio station WFAN (AM), WFAN in New York City is launched as the world's first sports radio, all-sports radio station.
*1990 – German reunification: East Germany accepts the Deutsche Mark as its currency, thus uniting the economies of East and West Germany.
*1991 – Cold War: The Warsaw Pact is officially dissolved at a meeting in Prague.
* 1991 – The Finnish operator Radiolinja is launched as the world's first GSM, GSM network.
*1997 – China Handover of Hong Kong, resumes sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonialism, colonial rule. The handover ceremony is attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Charles III of the United Kingdom, Charles, Prince of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
*1997 – Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Columbia, Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' is launched on STS-94, a re-flight of the prematurely-ended STS-83 mission with the same crew.
*1999 – The Scottish Parliament is officially opened by
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
on the day that legislative powers are officially transferred from the old Scottish Office in London to the new devolved Scottish Executive in Edinburgh. In Wales, the powers of the Secretary of State for Wales, Welsh Secretary are transferred to the National Assembly for Wales, National Assembly.
*2002 – The International Criminal Court is established to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.
* 2002 – Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937, a Tupolev Tu-154, and DHL Flight 611, a Boeing 757, 2002 Überlingen mid-air collision, collide in mid-air over Überlingen, southern Germany, killing all 71 on board both planes.
*2003 – Over 500,000 people protest against efforts to pass Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23, anti-sedition legislation in Hong Kong.
*2004 – Saturn orbit insertion of Cassini–Huygens begins at 01:12 UTC and ends at 02:48 UTC.
*2006 – The first operation of Qinghai–Tibet railway, Qinghai–Tibet Railway is conducted in China.
*2007 – Smoking in England is Smoking bans in the United Kingdom, banned in all public indoor spaces.
*2008 – 2008 riot in Mongolia, Riots erupt in Mongolia in response to allegations of fraud surrounding the 2008 legislative elections.
*2013 – Croatia becomes the 2013 enlargement of the European Union, 28th member of the European Union.
*2020 – The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement replaces NAFTA.
*2024 – At the centennial ceremony of the National War Memorial (Newfoundland), Dominion of Newfoundland National War Memorial, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission allowed an unprecedented second Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The
Royal Newfoundland Regiment solder was entombed in the memorial at this ceremony.
Births
Pre-1600
*1311 – Liu Bowen, Chinese military strategist, statesman and poet (died 1375)
*1464 – Clara Gonzaga, Italian noble (died 1503)
*1481 – Christian II of Denmark (died 1559)
*1506 – Louis II of Hungary (died 1526)
*1534 – Frederick II of Denmark (died 1588)
*1553 – Peter Street (carpenter), Peter Street, English carpenter and builder (died 1609)
*1574 – Joseph Hall (bishop), Joseph Hall, English bishop and mystic (died 1656)
*1586 – Claudio Saracini, Italian lute player and composer (died 1630)
1601–1900
*1633 – Johann Heinrich Heidegger, Swiss theologian and author (died 1698)
*1646 – Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, German mathematician and philosopher (died 1716)
*1663 – Franz Xaver Murschhauser, German composer and theorist (died 1738)
*1725 – Rhoda Delaval, English painter and aristocrat (died 1757)
* 1725 – Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, French general (died 1807)
*1726 – Acharya Bhikshu (Jain Monk), Acharya Bhikshu, Jain saint (died 1803)
*1731 – Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan, Scottish-English admiral (died 1804)
*1742 – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, German physicist and academic (died 1799)
*1771 – Ferdinando Paer, Italian composer and conductor (died 1839)
*1788 – Jean-Victor Poncelet, French mathematician and engineer (died 1867)
*1804 – Charles Gordon Greene, American journalist and politician (died 1886)
* 1804 – George Sand, French author and playwright (died 1876)
*1807 – Thomas Green Clemson, American politician and educator, founder of Clemson University (died 1888)
*1808 – Ygnacio del Valle, Mexican-American landowner (died 1880)
*1814 – Robert Richard Torrens, Irish-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of South Australia (died 1884)
*1818 – Ignaz Semmelweis, Hungarian-Austrian physician and obstetrician (died 1865)
* 1818 – Karl von Vierordt, German physician, psychologist and academic (died 1884)
*1822 – Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Vietnamese poet and activist (died 1888)
*1834 – Jadwiga Łuszczewska, Polish poet and author (died 1908)
*1850 – Florence Earle Coates, American poet (died 1927)
*
1858 – Willard Metcalf, American painter (died 1925)
* 1858 – Velma Caldwell Melville, American editor and writer of prose and poetry (died 1924)
*1859 – DeLancey W. Gill, American painter (died 1940)
*
1863 – William Grant Stairs, Canadian-English captain and explorer (died 1892)
*1869 – William Strunk Jr., American author and educator (died 1946)
*1872 – Louis Blériot, French pilot and engineer (died 1936)
* 1872 – William Duddell, English physicist and engineer (died 1917)
*
1873 – Alice Guy-Blaché, French-American film director, producer and screenwriter (died 1968)
* 1873 – Andrass Samuelsen, Faroese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (died 1954)
*1875 – Joseph Weil, American con man (died 1976)
*1876 – T. J. Ryan, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Queensland (died 1921)
*
1878 – Jacques Rosenbaum, Estonian-German architect (died 1944)
*
1879 – Léon Jouhaux, French union leader, Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1954)
*
1881 – Edward Battersby Bailey, English geologist (died 1965)
*1882 – Bidhan Chandra Roy, Indian physician and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of West Bengal (died 1962)
*1883 – Arthur Borton, English colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (died 1933)
*
1885 – Dorothea Mackellar, Australian author and poet (died 1968)
*1887 – Amber Reeves, New Zealand-English author and scholar (died 1981)
*1892 – James M. Cain, American author and journalist (died 1977)
* 1892 – László Lajtha, Hungarian composer and conductor (died 1963)
*1899 – Thomas A. Dorsey, American pianist and composer (died 1993)
* 1899 – Charles Laughton, English-American actor and director (died 1962)
* 1899 – Konstantinos Tsatsos, Greek scholar and politician, President of Greece (died 1987)
1901–present
*
1901 – Irna Phillips, American screenwriter (died 1973)
*1902 – William Wyler, French-American film director, producer and screenwriter (died 1981)
*
1903 – Amy Johnson, English pilot (died 1941)
* 1903 – Beatrix Lehmann, English actress (died 1979)
*1906 – Jean Dieudonné, French mathematician and academic (died 1992)
* 1906 – Estée Lauder (businesswoman), Estée Lauder, American businesswoman, co-founder of Estée Lauder Companies (died 2004)
*1907 – Norman Pirie, Scottish-English biochemist and virologist (died 1997)
*1909 – Emmett Toppino, American sprinter (died 1971)
*1910 – Glenn Hardin, American hurdler (died 1975)
*
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 ...
– Arnold Alas, Estonian landscape architect and artist (died 1990)
* 1911 – Sergey Sokolov (commander), Sergey Sokolov, Russian marshal and politician, Minister of Defence (Soviet Union), Soviet Minister of Defence (died 2012)
*1912 – David Brower, American environmentalist, founder of the Sierra Club Foundation (died 2000)
* 1912 – Sally Kirkland (editor), Sally Kirkland, American journalist (died 1989)
*1913 – Frank Barrett (baseball), Frank Barrett, American baseball player (died 1998)
* 1913 – Lee Guttero, American basketball player (died 2004)
* 1913 – Vasantrao Naik, Indian politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Maharashtra (died 1979)
*1914 – Thomas Pearson (British Army officer, born 1914), Thomas Pearson, British Army officer (died 2019)
* 1914 – Christl Cranz, German alpine skier (died 2004)
* 1914 – Bernard B. Wolfe, American politician (died 2016)
*
1915 – Willie Dixon, American blues singer-songwriter, bass player, guitarist and producer (died 1992)
* 1915 – Philip Lever, 3rd Viscount Leverhulme, British peer (died 2000)
* 1915 – Boots Poffenberger, American baseball pitcher (died 1999)
* 1915 – Joseph Ransohoff, American soldier and neurosurgeon (died 2001)
* 1915 – Nguyễn Văn Linh, Vietnamese politician (died 1998)
*
1916 – Olivia de Havilland, British-American actress (died 2020)
* 1916 – Iosif Shklovsky, Ukrainian astronomer and astrophysicist (died 1985)
* 1916 – George C. Stoney, American director and producer (died 2012)
*
1917 – Álvaro Domecq y Díez, Spanish aristocrat (died 2005)
*1918 – Ralph Young (singer), Ralph Young, American singer and actor (died 2008)
* 1918 – Ahmed Deedat, South African writer and public speaker (died 2005)
* 1918 – Pedro Yap, Filipino lawyer (died 2003)
*1919 – Arnold Meri, Estonian colonel (died 2009)
* 1919 – Malik Dohan al-Hassan, Iraqi politician (died 2021)
* 1919 – Gerald E. Miller, American vice admiral (died 2014)
*1920 – Henri Amouroux, French historian and journalist (died 2007)
* 1920 – Harold Sakata, Japanese-American wrestler and actor (died 1982)
* 1920 – George I. Fujimoto, American-Japanese chemist (died 2023)
*
1921 – Seretse Khama, Batswana lawyer and politician, 1st President of Botswana (died 1980)
* 1921 – Michalina Wisłocka, Polish gynecologist and sexologist (died 2005)
* 1921 – Arthur Johnson (canoeist), Arthur Johnson, Canadian canoeist (died 2003)
*
1922 – Toshi Seeger, German-American activist, co-founder of the Clearwater Festival (died 2013)
* 1922 – Mordechai Bibi, Israeli politician (died 2023)
*
1923 – Scotty Bowers, American marine, author and pimp (died 2019)
*
1924 – Antoni Ramallets, Spanish footballer and manager (died 2013)
* 1924 – Florence Stanley, American actress (died 2003)
* 1924 – Georges Rivière, French actor (died 2011)
*1925 – Farley Granger, American actor (died 2011)
* 1925 – Art McNally, American football referee (died 2023)
*1926 – Robert Fogel, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize in Economics, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013)
* 1926 – Carl Hahn, German businessman (died 2023)
* 1926 – Mohamed Abshir Muse, Somali general (died 2017)
* 1926 – Hans Werner Henze, German composer and educator (died 2012)
*1927 – Alan J. Charig, English paleontologist and author (died 1997)
* 1927 – Winfield Dunn, American politician, 43rd Governor of Tennessee
[Michael Rogers,]
Winfield Dunn
" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved: 30 December 2012. (died 2024)
* 1927 – Joseph Martin Sartoris, American bishop
* 1927 – Chandra Shekhar, 8th Prime Minister of India (died 2007)
*1929 – Gerald Edelman, American biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2014)
*1930 – Moustapha Akkad, Syrian-American director and producer (died 2005)
* 1930 – Carol Chomsky, American linguist and academic (died 2008)
*
1931 – Leslie Caron, French actress and dancer
*
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 ...
– Ze'ev Schiff, French-Israeli journalist and author (died 2007)
*1933 – C. Scott Littleton, American anthropologist and academic (died 2010)
*1934 – Claude Berri, French actor, director and screenwriter (died 2009)
* 1934 – Jamie Farr, American actor
* 1934 – Jean Marsh, English actress and screenwriter (died 2025)
* 1934 – Sydney Pollack, American actor, director and producer (died 2008)
*
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 ...
– James Cotton, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (died 2017)
* 1935 – David Prowse, English actor (died 2020)
*1936 – Wally Amos, American entrepreneur, founder of Famous Amos (died 2024)
*1938 – Craig Anderson (right-handed pitcher), Craig Anderson, American baseball player and coach
* 1938 – Hariprasad Chaurasia, Indian flute player and composer
*1939 – Karen Black, American actress (died 2013)
* 1939 – Delaney Bramlett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer (died 2008)
*1940 – Craig Brown (footballer, born 1940), Craig Brown, Scottish footballer and manager (died 2023)
* 1940 – Ela Gandhi, South African activist and politician
* 1940 – Cahit Zarifoğlu, Turkish poet and author (died 1987)
*1941 – Rod Gilbert, Canadian-American ice hockey player (died 2021)
* 1941 – Alfred G. Gilman, American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2015)
* 1941 – Nicolae Saramandu, Romanian linguist and philologist
* 1941 – Myron Scholes, Canadian-American economist and academic, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Nobel Prize laureate
* 1941 – Twyla Tharp, American dancer and choreographer
*
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 ...
– Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Iraqi field marshal and politician (died 2020)
* 1942 – Geneviève Bujold, Canadian actress
* 1942 – Andraé Crouch, American singer-songwriter, producer and pastor (died 2015)
* 1942 – Julia Higgins, English chemist and academic
*
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 � ...
– Philip Brunelle, American conductor and organist
* 1943 – Peeter Lepp, Estonian politician, 37th Mayor of Tallinn
* 1943 – Jeff Wayne, American composer, musician and lyricist
*1944 – Nurul Haque Miah, Bangladeshi professor and writer (died 2021)
*1945 – Mike Burstyn, American actor and singer
* 1945 – Debbie Harry, American singer-songwriter and actress
*
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 ...
– Mick Aston, English archaeologist and academic (died 2013)
* 1946 – Erkki Tuomioja, Finnish sergeant and politician, Minister for Foreign Affairs (Finland), Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs
* 1946 – Kojo Laing, Ghanaian novelist and poet (died 2017)
*
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 ...
– Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Japanese race car driver
* 1947 – Malcolm Wicks, English academic and politician (died 2012)
*
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) ...
– John Ford (musician), John Ford, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
*
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 ...
– Néjia Ben Mabrouk, Tunisian-Belgian director and screenwriter
* 1949 – John Farnham, English-Australian singer-songwriter
* 1949 – David Hogan (composer), David Hogan, American composer and educator (died 1996)
* 1949 – Venkaiah Naidu, Indian lawyer and politician
*1950 – David Duke, American white supremacist, politician and Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard
*1951 – Trevor Eve, English actor and producer
* 1951 – Anne Feeney, American singer-songwriter and activist (died 2021)
* 1951 – Julia Goodfellow, English physicist and academic
* 1951 – Klaus-Peter Justus, German runner
* 1951 – Tom Kozelko, American basketball player
* 1951 – Terrence Mann, American actor, singer and dancer
* 1951 – Fred Schneider, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
* 1951 – Victor Willis, American singer-songwriter, pianist and actor
*1952 – Dan Aykroyd, Canadian actor, producer and screenwriter
* 1952 – David Arkenstone, American composer and performer
* 1952 – David Lane (oncologist), David Lane, English oncologist and academic
* 1952 – Steve Shutt, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
* 1952 – Timothy J. Tobias, American pianist and composer (died 2006)
*1953 – Lawrence Gonzi, Maltese lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Malta
* 1953 – Mike Haynes (cornerback), Mike Haynes, American football player
* 1953 – Jadranka Kosor, Croatian journalist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Croatia
*1954 – Keith Whitley, American singer and guitarist (died 1989)
*1954 – Hossein Nuri, Iranian artist and director
*1955 – Nikolai Demidenko, Russian pianist and educator
* 1955 – Li Keqiang, Chinese economist and politician, 7th Premier of the People's Republic of China (died 2023)
* 1955 – Lisa Scottoline, American lawyer and author
* 1955 – Maʻafu Tukuiʻaulahi, Tongan politician and military officer, Deputy Prime Minister (died 2021)
*1956 – Alan Ruck, American actor
*
1957 – Lisa Blount, American actress and producer (died 2010)
* 1957 – Hannu Kamppuri, Finnish ice hockey player
* 1957 – Sean O'Driscoll, English footballer and manager
*
1958 – Jack Dyer Crouch II, American diplomat, Deputy National Security Advisor (United States), United States Deputy National Security Advisor
*
1960 – Michael Beattie (rugby league), Michael Beattie, Australian rugby league player and coach
* 1960 – Lynn Jennings, American runner
* 1960 – Evelyn "Champagne" King, American soul/disco singer
* 1960 – Kevin Swords, American rugby player
*1961 – Malcolm Elliott, English cyclist
* 1961 – Ivan Kaye, English actor
* 1961 – Carl Lewis, American long jumper and runner
* 1961 – Diana, Princess of Wales (died 1997)
* 1961 – Michelle Wright, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
*
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 ...
– Andre Braugher, American actor (died 2023)
* 1962 – Mokhzani Mahathir, Malaysian businessman
*
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 ...
– Roddy Bottum, American singer and keyboard player
* 1963 – Nick Giannopoulos, Australian actor
* 1963 – David Wood (environmental campaigner), David Wood, American lawyer and environmentalist (died 2006)
*1964 – Bernard Laporte, French rugby player and coach
*1965 – Carl Fogarty, English motorcycle racer
* 1965 – Garry Schofield, English rugby player and coach
* 1965 – Harald Zwart, Norwegian director and producer
*
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
– Enrico Annoni, Italian footballer and coach
* 1966 – Shawn Burr, Canadian-American ice hockey player (died 2013)
*
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 ...
– Pamela Anderson, Canadian-American model and actress
*1969 – Séamus Egan, American-Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1971 – Missy Elliott, American rapper, producer, dancer and actress
* 1971 – Julianne Nicholson, American actress
*1974 – Jefferson Pérez, Ecuadorian race walker
*1975 – Sean Colson, American basketball player and coach
* 1975 – Sufjan Stevens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
*
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 ...
– Patrick Kluivert, Dutch footballer and coach
* 1976 – Hannu Tihinen, Finnish footballer
* 1976 – Albert Torrens, Australian rugby league player
* 1976 – Ruud van Nistelrooy, Dutch footballer and manager
* 1976 – Szymon Ziółkowski, Polish hammer thrower
*1977 – Tom Frager, Senegalese-French singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1977 – Keigo Hayashi, Japanese musician
* 1977 – Jarome Iginla, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1977 – Liv Tyler, American actress
*1979 – Forrest Griffin, American mixed martial artist and actor
*1980 – Nelson Cruz, Dominican-American baseball player
*1981 – Carlo Del Fava, South African-Italian rugby player
* 1981 – Tadhg Kennelly, Irish-Australian footballer
*1982 – Justin Huber, Australian baseball player
* 1982 – Joachim Johansson, Swedish tennis player
* 1982 – Adrian Ward (American football), Adrian Ward, American football player
* 1982 – Fedi Nuril, Indonesian actor, model, and musician
* 1982 – Hilarie Burton, American actress
*1983 – Leeteuk, South Korean singer and entertainer
*1984 – Donald Thomas (athlete), Donald Thomas, Bahamian high jumper
*1985 – Chris Perez (baseball), Chris Perez, American baseball player
* 1985 – Léa Seydoux, French actor
*1986 – Charlie Blackmon, American baseball player
* 1986 – Andrew Lee (Australian footballer), Andrew Lee, Australian footballer
* 1986 – Julian Prochnow, German footballer
*1987 – Michael Schrader, German decathlete
*1988 – Dedé (footballer, born 1988), Dedé, Brazilian footballer
* 1988 – Aleksander Lesun, Russian modern pentathlete
*1989 – Kent Bazemore, American basketball player
* 1989 – Hannah Murray, English actress
* 1989 – Daniel Ricciardo, Australian race car driver
*1991 – Lucas Vázquez, Spanish footballer
* 1991 – Michael Wacha, American baseball player
*1992 – Aaron Sanchez (baseball), Aaron Sanchez, American baseball player
*1994 – Chloé Paquet, French tennis player
*1995 – Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, Belgian footballer
* 1995 – Savvy Shields, Miss America 2017
* 1995 – Taeyong, South Korea rapper
*1996 – Adelina Sotnikova, Russian figure skater
*1998 – Chloe Bailey, American singer-songwriter and actress
* 1998 – Susan Bandecchi, Swiss tennis player
* 1998 – Aleksandra Golovkina, Lithuanian figure skater
*2000 – Lalu Muhammad Zohri, Indonesian sprinter
*2001 – Chosen Jacobs, American actor and singer
*2003 – Tate McRae, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer
* 2003 – Storm Reid, American actress
Deaths
Pre-1600
*
552 –
Totila, Ostrogoth king
* 992 – Queen Heonjeong, Heonjeong, Korean queen (born 966)
*1109 – Alfonso VI of León and Castile, Alfonso VI, king of León and Castile (born 1040)
*1224 – Hōjō Yoshitoki, regent of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan (born 1163)
*1242 – Chagatai Khan, Mongol ruler (born 1183)
*1277 – Baibars, Egyptian sultan (born 1223)
*1287 – Narathihapate, Burmese king (born 1238)
[(Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 149, footnote 3) of ]
*1321 – María de Molina, queen of Castile and León
*1348 – Joan of England (1335–1348), Joan, English princess
*1555 – John Bradford, English English Reformation, reformer, prebendary of Old St Paul's Cathedral, St. Paul's (born 1510)
*1589 – Lady Saigō, Japanese concubine (born 1552)
*1592 – Marc'Antonio Ingegneri, Italian composer and educator (born 1535)
1601–1900
*1614 – Isaac Casaubon, French philologist and scholar (born 1559)
*1622 – William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, English politician (born 1575)
*1681 – Oliver Plunkett, Irish archbishop and saint (born 1629)
*1736 – Ahmed III, Ottoman sultan (born 1673)
*1749 – William Jones (mathematician), William Jones, Welsh mathematician and academic (born 1675)
*1774 – Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (born 1705)
*
1782 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, English politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (born 1730)
*1784 – Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, German composer (born 1710)
*1787 – Charles, Prince of Soubise, Charles de Rohan, French marshal (born 1715)
*
1819 – The Public Universal Friend, American evangelist (born 1752)
*1828 – Lyncoya Jackson, a Muscogee war orphan adopted by Andrew Jackson
*1839 – Mahmud II, Ottoman sultan (born 1785)
*1860 – Charles Goodyear, American chemist and engineer (born 1800)
*
1863 – John F. Reynolds, American general (born 1820)
*1884 – Allan Pinkerton, Scottish-American detective and spy (born 1819)
*1896 – Harriet Beecher Stowe, American author and activist (born 1811)
1901–present
*1905 – John Hay, American journalist and politician, 37th United States Secretary of State (born 1838)
*1912 – Harriet Quimby, American pilot and screenwriter (born 1875)
*1925 – Erik Satie, French pianist and composer (born 1866)
*1934 – Ernst Röhm, German paramilitary commander (born 1887)
*
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 ...
– Peadar Toner Mac Fhionnlaoich, Irish writer (born 1857)
*
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 � ...
– Willem Arondeus, Dutch artist, author and anti-Nazi resistance fighter (born 1894)
*1944 – Carl Mayer, Austrian-English screenwriter (born 1894)
* 1944 – Tanya Savicheva, Russian author (born 1930)
*
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) ...
– Achille Varzi, Italian race car driver (born 1904)
*1950 – Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Swiss composer and educator (born 1865)
* 1950 – Eliel Saarinen, Finnish-American architect, co-designed the National Museum of Finland (born 1873)
*1951 – Tadeusz Borowski, Polish poet, novelist and journalist (born 1922)
*1961 – Louis-Ferdinand Céline, French physician and author (born 1894)
*
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 ...
– Purushottam Das Tandon, Indian lawyer and politician (born 1882)
* 1962 – Bidhan Chandra Roy, Indian physician and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of West Bengal (born 1882)
*1964 – Pierre Monteux, French-American viola player and conductor (born 1875)
*1965 – Wally Hammond, English cricketer (born 1903)
* 1965 – Robert Ruark, American journalist and author (born 1915)
*
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 ...
– Frank Verner, American runner (born 1883)
*
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 ...
– Gerhard Ritter, German historian and academic (born 1888)
*
1968 – Fritz Bauer, German judge and politician (born 1903)
*1971 – William Lawrence Bragg, Australian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1890)
* 1971 – Learie Constantine, Trinidadian-English cricketer, lawyer and politician (born 1901)
*1974 – Juan Perón, Argentinian general and politician, President of Argentina (born 1895)
*
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 ...
– Kurt Student, German general and pilot (born 1890)
*1981 – Carlos de Oliveira, Portuguese author and poet (born 1921)
*1983 – Buckminster Fuller, American architect, designed the Montreal Biosphère (born 1895)
*1984 – Moshé Feldenkrais, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (born 1904)
*1990 – Jurriaan Schrofer, Dutch sculptor, designer and educator (born 1926)
[Jurriaan Schrofer]
(in Dutch), ''Netherlands Institute for Art History''. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
*1991 – Michael Landon, American actor, director and producer (born 1936)
*1992 – Franco Cristaldi, Italian screenwriter and producer (born 1924)
*1994 – Merriam Modell, American author (born 1908)
*1995 – Wolfman Jack, American radio host (born 1938)
* 1995 – Ian Parkin, English guitarist (Be-Bop Deluxe) (born 1950)
*1996 – William T. Cahill, American lawyer and politician, 46th Governor of New Jersey (born 1904)
* 1996 – Margaux Hemingway, American model and actress (born 1954)
* 1996 – Steve Tesich, Serbian-American author and screenwriter (born 1942)
*1997 – Robert Mitchum, American actor (born 1917)
* 1997 – Charles Werner, American cartoonist (born 1909)
*1999 – Edward Dmytryk, Canadian-American director and producer (born 1908)
* 1999 – Forrest Mars Sr., American businessman, creator of M&M's and the Mars (chocolate bar), Mars chocolate bar (born 1904)
* 1999 – Sylvia Sidney, American actress (born 1910)
* 1999 – Sola Sierra, Chilean human rights activist (born 1935)
*2000 – Walter Matthau, American actor (born 1920)
*2001 – Nikolay Basov, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1922)
* 2001 – Jean-Louis Rosier, French race car driver (born 1925)
*2003 – Herbie Mann, American flute player and saxophonist (born 1930)
*2004 – Peter Barnes (playwright), Peter Barnes, English playwright and screenwriter (born 1931)
* 2004 – Marlon Brando, American actor and director (born 1924)
* 2004 – Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer and conductor (born 1909)
*2005 – Renaldo Benson, American singer-songwriter (Four Tops) (born 1936)
* 2005 – Gus Bodnar, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1923)
* 2005 – Luther Vandross, American singer-songwriter and producer (Change (band), Change) (born 1951)
*2006 – Ryutaro Hashimoto, Japanese politician, 53rd Prime Minister of Japan (born 1937)
* 2006 – Robert Lepikson, Estonian race car driver and politician, Minister of the Interior (Estonia), Estonian Minister of the Interior (born 1952)
* 2006 – Fred Trueman, English cricketer and sportscaster (born 1931)
*2008 – Mel Galley, English guitarist (born 1948)
*2009 – Karl Malden, American actor (born 1912)
* 2009 – Onni Palaste, Finnish soldier and author (born 1917)
* 2009 – Mollie Sugden, English actress (born 1922)
*2010 – Don Coryell, American football player and coach (born 1924)
* 2010 – Arnold Friberg, American painter and illustrator (born 1913)
* 2010 – Ilene Woods, American actress and singer (born 1929)
*2012 – Peter E. Gillquist, American priest and author (born 1938)
* 2012 – Ossie Hibbert, Jamaican-American keyboard player and producer (born 1950)
* 2012 – Evelyn Lear, American operatic soprano (born 1926)
* 2012 – Alan G. Poindexter, American captain, pilot and astronaut (born 1961)
* 2012 – Jack Richardson (writer), Jack Richardson, American author and playwright (born 1934)
*2013 – Sidney Bryan Berry, American general (born 1926)
* 2013 – Charles Foley (inventor), Charles Foley, American game designer, co-creator of Twister (game), Twister (born 1930)
* 2013 – William H. Gray (Pennsylvania politician), William H. Gray, American minister and politician (born 1941)
*2014 – Jean Garon, Canadian economist, lawyer and politician (born 1938)
* 2014 – Stephen Gaskin, American activist, co-founder of The Farm (Tennessee), The Farm (born 1935)
* 2014 – Bob Jones (police commissioner), Bob Jones, English lawyer and politician (born 1955)
* 2014 – Anatoly Kornukov, Ukrainian-Russian general (born 1942)
* 2014 – Walter Dean Myers, American author and poet (born 1937)
*2015 – Val Doonican, Irish singer and television host (born 1927)
* 2015 – Czesław Olech, Polish mathematician and academic (born 1931)
* 2015 – Nicholas Winton, English lieutenant and humanitarian (born 1909)
*2016 – Robin Hardy (film director), Robin Hardy, English author and film director (born 1929)
*2019 – Bogusław Schaeffer, Polish composer (born 1929)
*2021 – Louis Andriessen, Dutch composer (born 1939)
*2023 – Dilano van 't Hoff, Dutch race car driver (born 2004)
*2024 – Ismail Kadare, Albanian novelist (born 1936)
*2024 – Robert Towne, American screenwriter (born 1934)
Holidays and observances
*Christian feast day:
**Aaron (Syriac Christianity)
**Beatification, Blessed Antonio Rosmini-Serbati
**Felix of Como
**Junípero Serra
**Julius and Aaron
**Leontius of Autun
**Saint Serf, Servanus
**Saint Veep, Veep
**July 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
**Feast of the Most Precious Blood, Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ (removed from official
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
calendar since 1969)
*Armed Forces Day (Singapore)
*Bobby Bonilla Day (United States)
*
Canada Day
Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A Public holidays in Canada, federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the B ...
, formerly Dominion Day (Canada)
*Children's Day (Pakistan)
*Chinese Communist Party, Chinese Communist Party Founding Day (China)
*Day of Officials and Civil Servants (Hungary)
*Doctors' Day (India)
*Emancipation Day (Sint Maarten and Sint Eustatius)
*Engineer's Day (Bahrain, Mexico)
*Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day (Hong Kong, China)
*Independence Day (Burundi), celebrates the independence of
Burundi
Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...
from Belgium in 1962.
*Independence Day (Rwanda)
*Independence Day (Somalia)
*International Tartan Day
*July Morning (Bulgaria)
*Keti Koti (Emancipation Day) (
Suriname
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
)
*Madeira Day (
Madeira
Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...
, Portugal)
*Moving Day (Quebec) (Canada)
*Newfoundland and Labrador Memorial Day
*Republic Day (Ghana)
*RONPhos Handover Day (Nauru)
*Sir Seretse Khama Day (Botswana)
*Territory Day (British Virgin Islands)
*Territory Day (Northern Territory), Territory Day (Northern Territory, Australia)
*The first day of Van Mahotsav, celebrated until July 7. (India)
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:July 01
Days of July