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Events


Pre-1600

* 1395Battle of Rovine: The
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
ns defeat an invading Ottoman army. * 1521Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason. * 1527Pánfilo de Narváez departs Spain to explore Florida with 600 men – by 1536 only four survive. * 1536George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford and four other men are executed for treason. * 1536 –
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
and
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...
's marriage is annulled. * 1590
Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...
is crowned
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
of
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
.


1601–1900

*
1642 Events January–March * January 4 – King Charles I of England, accompanied by soldiers, arrives at a session of the Long Parliament and attempts to arrest his chief opponents, the Five Members, John Hampden, Arthur Haselri ...
Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve founds the Ville Marie de Montréal. * 1648 – An allied French and Swedish army defeats Imperial and Bavarian forces in the Battle of Zusmarshausen. *
1673 Events January–March * January 22 – Impersonator Mary Carleton is hanging, hanged at Newgate Prison in London, for multiple thefts and returning from penal transportation. * February 10 – Molière's ''comédie-ballet ...
Louis Jolliet and
Jacques Marquette Jacques Marquette, Society of Jesus, S.J. (; June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Society of Jesus, Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. M ...
begin exploring the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
. *
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 ...
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
formally begins when
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
declares war on
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. * 1760 – French forces besieging Quebec retreat after the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
arrives to relieve the British garrison. *
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 ...
– The
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
is formed under the
Buttonwood Agreement The Buttonwood Agreement is the founding document of what is now the New York Stock Exchange and is one of the most important financial documents in U.S. history. The agreement organized securities trading in New York City and was signed on May ...
. * 1805
Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...
becomes Wāli of
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. *
1809 Events January–March * January 5 – The Treaty of the Dardanelles, between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Ottoman Empire, is concluded. * January 10 – Peninsular War – French Marshal Jean ...
– Emperor
Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
orders the annexation of the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
to the French Empire. *
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 ...
Occupation of
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
changes from French to Austrian. * 1814 – The
Constitution of Norway The 'Constitution of Norway'' (complete name: The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway; Danish language, Danish: ; Norwegian language, Norwegian Bokmål: ; Nynorsk, Norwegian Nynorsk: ) was adopted on 16 May and signed on 17 May 1814 by the N ...
is signed and
Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...
Christian Frederick of Denmark is elected
King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty king ...
by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly. * 1859 – Members of the
Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...
codified the first rules of
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
. * 1863Rosalía de Castro publishes ''Cantares Gallegos'', the first book in the
Galician language Galician ( , ), also known as Galego (), is a Iberian Romance languages, Western Ibero-Romance language. Around 2.4 million people have at least some degree of competence in the language, mainly in Galicia (Spain), Galicia, an Autonomo ...
. *1863 –
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 ...
: During the Vicksburg campaign, Union forces under John A. McClernand defeat a Confederate rearguard and capture around 1,700 men at the Battle of Big Black River Bridge. * 1865 – The International Telegraph Union (later the
International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)In the other common languages of the ITU: * * is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information ...
) is established in Paris. * 1875
Aristides Aristides ( ; , ; 530–468 BC) was an ancient Athenian statesman. Nicknamed "the Just" (δίκαιος, ''díkaios''), he flourished at the beginning of Athens' Classical period and is remembered for his generalship in the Persian War. ...
wins the first Kentucky Derby with the jockey Oliver Lewis (2:37.75). *
1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...
– The children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', by L. Frank Baum, is first published in the United States. The first copy is given to the author's sister.


1901–present

* 1902 – Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the
Antikythera mechanism The Antikythera mechanism ( , ) is an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek hand-powered orrery (model of the Solar System). It is the oldest known example of an Analog computer, analogue computer. It could be used to predict astronomy, astronomical ...
, an ancient mechanical
analog computer An analog computer or analogue computer is a type of computation machine (computer) that uses physical phenomena such as Electrical network, electrical, Mechanics, mechanical, or Hydraulics, hydraulic quantities behaving according to the math ...
. * 1914 – The Protocol of Corfu is signed, recognising full autonomy to Northern Epirus under nominal
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
n sovereignty. * 1915 – The last British Liberal Party government (led by H. H. Asquith) falls. *
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 ...
Vidkun Quisling Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (; ; 18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, Nazi collaborator who Quisling regime, headed the government of N ...
and Johan Bernhard Hjort form
Nasjonal Samling The Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norway, Norwegian far-right politics, far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling a ...
— the national-socialist party of Norway. * 1937
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
: The Largo Caballero government resigns in the wake of the Barcelona May Days, leading Juan Negrín to form a government, without the anarcho-syndicalist CNT, in its stead. * 1939 – The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the United States' first televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City. *
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 ...
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 ...
: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium. *
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: Dambuster Raids commence by No. 617 Squadron RAF. *
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 ...
Delta Air Lines Flight 318 crashes near Marshall, Texas, killing 19. *
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 ...
– The
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
hands down a unanimous decision in ''
Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...
of
Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...
'', outlawing racial segregation in public schools. *
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 ...
Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...
: President
Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...
of
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
demands dismantling of the peace-keeping UN Emergency Force in Egypt. * 1969Venera program:
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 ...
'' Venera 6'' begins its descent into the
atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
of
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...
, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure. *
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 ...
Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...
: Televised hearings begin in 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 ...
. * 1974
The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
: Thirty-three civilians are killed and 300 injured when the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) detonates four car bombs in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
and
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. * 1974 – Police in Los Angeles raid the Symbionese Liberation Army's headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall. *
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 ...
Nolan Bushnell opened the first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre (later renamed Chuck E. Cheese) in
San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
. *
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 ...
– General
Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean politician, army general and military dictator who served as the fifth president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Prior to his accession to the presidency, he was the cou ...
of South Korea seizes control of the government and declares
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
in order to suppress student demonstrations. * 1980 – On the eve of presidential elections, Maoist
guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
group Shining Path attacks a polling location in Chuschi (a town in Ayacucho), starting the Internal conflict in Peru. *
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
– The U.S. Department of Energy declassifies documents showing world's largest mercury pollution event in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (ultimately found to be ), in response to the ''Appalachian Observers Freedom of Information Act request. * 1983 –
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
,
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
. * 1984Prince Charles calls a proposed addition to the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...
, London, a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend", sparking controversies on the proper role of the
Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...
and the course of
modern architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architectur ...
. *
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 ...
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
: An
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 ...
i Dassault Mirage F1 fighter jet fires two missiles into the U.S. Navy warship , killing 37 and injuring 21 of her crew. * 1990 – The General Assembly of the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
(WHO) eliminates
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
from the list of psychiatric diseases. *
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 ...
– Three days of popular protests against the government of Prime Minister of Thailand Suchinda Kraprayoon begin in
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
, leading to a military crackdown that results in 52 officially confirmed deaths, hundreds of injuries, many disappearances, and more than 3,500 arrests. *
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 ...
Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...
holds its first multi-party elections. * 1995Shawn Nelson steals an M60 tank from the
California Army National Guard The California Army National Guard (CA ARNG) is one of three components of the California National Guard, a reserve of the United States Army, and part of the United States National Guard, National Guard of the United States. The California Army ...
Armory in
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
and proceeds to go on a rampage. *
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 ...
– Troops of
Laurent-Désiré Kabila Laurent-Désiré Kabila (; 27 November 1939 – 16 January 2001) usually known as Laurent Kabila or Kabila the Father (American English, US: ), was a Congolese rebel and politician who served as the third president of the Democratic Republic of t ...
march into
Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...
.
Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
is officially renamed
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
. *
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
Arsenal and Galatasaray fans clash in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final riots in Copenhagen *
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 ...
– The first legal
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
s in the U.S. are performed in the state of
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
. * 2006 – The aircraft carrier is sunk in the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
as an
artificial reef An artificial reef (AR) is a human-created freshwater or marine benthic structure. Typically built in areas with a generally featureless bottom to promote Marine biology#Reefs, marine life, it may be intended to control #Erosion prevention, erosio ...
. *
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
– Trains from
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
and South Korea cross the 38th Parallel in a test-run agreed by both governments. This is the first time that trains have crossed the Demilitarized Zone since
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 ...
. *
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
Pamir Airways Flight 112 crashes in Afghanistan's Shakardara District, killing 44. *
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 ...
– A military plane crash in northern
Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
kills 17 people.


Births


Pre-1600

*
1155 Year 1155 ( MCLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * April 18 – Siege of Tortona: German forces capture the citadel of Tortona (after a two-month siege). The city is razed ...
Jien, Japanese monk, poet, and historian (died 1225) * 1443Edmund, Earl of Rutland (died 1460) * 1451Engelbert II of Nassau, Count of Nassau-Vianden and Lord of Breda (1475–1504) (died 1504) * 1490Albert, Duke of Prussia, last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (died 1568) * 1500Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (died 1540) * 1551Martin Delrio, Belgian occultist and theologian (died 1601) *
1568 Year 1568 ( MDLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 6 – In the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, the delegates of Unio Trium Nationum to the Diet of Torda convene i ...
Anna Vasa of Sweden, Swedish princess (died 1625)


1601–1900

* 1610Stefano della Bella, Italian engraver and etcher (died 1664) *
1628 Events January–March * January 19 – (26 Jumada al-Awwal 1037 Islamic calendar, A.H.) The reign of Shahryar Mirza, Salef-ud-din Muhammad Shahryar as the Mughal Emperor, Shahryar Mirza, comes to an end a little more than tw ...
Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria (died 1662) * 1636Edward Colman, English Catholic courtier under Charles II (died 1678) *
1682 Events January–March * January 7 – The Republic of Genoa forbids the unauthorized printing of newspapers and all handwritten newssheets; the ban is lifted after three months. * January 12 – Scottish minister James Ren ...
Bartholomew Roberts, Welsh pirate (died 1722) * 1698Gio Nicola Buhagiar, Maltese painter (died 1752) * 1706Andreas Felix von Oefele, German historian and librarian (died 1780) * 1718Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English politician and diplomat, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (died 1778) * 1732Francesco Pasquale Ricci, Italian violinist and composer (died 1817) * 1743Seth Warner, American colonel (died 1784) * 1749
Edward Jenner Edward Jenner (17 May 1749 – 26 January 1823) was an English physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. The terms ''vaccine'' and ''vaccination'' are derived f ...
, English physician and microbiologist (died 1823) * 1758Sir John St Aubyn, 5th Baronet, English politician (died 1839) * 1768Caroline of Brunswick (died 1821) * 1768 – Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, English general and politician,
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
(died 1854) *
1794 Events January–March * January 1 – The Stibo Group is founded by Niels Lund as a printing company in Aarhus (Denmark). * January 13 – The U.S. Congress enacts a law providing for, effective May 1, 1795, a United St ...
Anna Brownell Jameson, Irish-English author (died 1860) *
1818 Events January–March * January 1 ** Battle of Koregaon: Troops of the British East India Company score a decisive victory over the Maratha Confederacy, Maratha Empire. ** English author Mary Shelley publishes the novel ''Frankenstein ...
Ezra Otis Kendall, American professor, astronomer and mathematician (died 1899) * 1821Sebastian Kneipp, German priest and therapist (died 1897) * 1835Thomas McIlwraith, Scottish-Australian politician, 8th Premier of Queensland (died 1900) * 1836Virginie Loveling, Belgian author and poet (died 1923) * 1845Jacint Verdaguer, Catalan priest and poet (died 1902) *
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 ...
Martin Kukučín, Slovak author and playwright (died 1928) * 1860 – Charlotte Barnum, American mathematician and social activist (died 1934) * 1863Léon Gérin, Canadian lawyer, sociologist, and civil servant (died 1951) * 1864Louis Richardet, Swiss target shooter (died 1923) * 1864 – Ante Trumbić, Croatian lawyer and politician, 27th Mayor of Split (died 1938) *
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 ...
Erik Satie, French pianist and composer (died 1925) * 1868Horace Elgin Dodge, American businessman, co-founded
Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
(died 1920) * 1868 – Panagis Tsaldaris, Greek politician,
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 ...
(died 1936) *
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 ...
Newton Moore, Australian politician, 8th Premier of Western Australia (died 1936) * 1873Henri Barbusse, French author and journalist (died 1935) * 1873 – Dorothy Richardson, English author and journalist (died 1957) * 1874George Sheldon, American diver (died 1907) * 1882Karl Burman, Estonian architect and painter (died 1965) *
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 ...
Alfonso XIII of Spain, Spanish monarch (died 1941) * 1888Tich Freeman, English cricketer (died 1965) * 1889Dorothy Gibson, American actress and singer (died 1946) * 1889 – Alfonso Reyes, Mexican author (died 1959) * 1891Napoleon Zervas, Greek general and politician (died 1957) * 1893Frederick McKinley Jones, American inventor and entrepreneur (died 1961) * 1895Saul Adler, Belarusian-English captain and parasitologist (died 1966) * 1895 – Reinhold Saulmann, Estonian sprinter and bandy player (died 1936) *
1897 Events January * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a punitive expedit ...
Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist 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 1981) * 1898A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (died 1992) *
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 ...
Carmen de Icaza, Spanish writer (died 1979)


1901–present

* 1901Werner Egk, German pianist and composer (died 1983) * 1903Cool Papa Bell, American baseball player and manager (died 1991) * 1904Marie-Anne Desmarest, French author (died 1973) * 1906Zinka Milanov, Croatian-American soprano and educator (died 1989) * 1909Julius Sumner Miller, American physicist and academic (died 1987) *
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 ...
Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish-American model (died 1992) * 1911 – Maureen O'Sullivan, Irish-American actress (died 1998) *
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 ...
Archibald Cox, American lawyer and politician, 31st
United States Solicitor General The solicitor general of the United States (USSG or SG), is the fourth-highest-ranking official within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and represents the federal government in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. ...
(died 2004) * 1912 – Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner, American inventor (died 2006) * 1913Hans Ruesch, Swiss racing driver and author (died 2007) * 1914Robert N. Thompson, American-Canadian chiropractor and politician (died 1997) *
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 ...
Joan Benham, English actress (died 1981) * 1918 – Birgit Nilsson, Swedish operatic soprano (died 2005) * 1919Antonio Aguilar, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and screenwriter (died 2007) * 1919 – Gustav Naan, Russian-Estonian physicist and philosopher (died 1994) * 1920Harry Männil, Estonian-Venezuelan businessman, co-founded ACO Group (died 2010) * 1921Dennis Brain, English horn player (died 1957) * 1921 – Bob Merrill, American composer and screenwriter (died 1998) * 1922Jean Rédélé, French racing driver, founded Alpine (died 2007) * 1923Michael Beetham, English commander and pilot (died 2015) * 1924Roy Bentley, English footballer (died 2018) * 1924 – Francis Tombs, Baron Tombs, English engineer and politician (died 2020) * 1926David Ogilvy, 13th Earl of Airlie, English-Scottish soldier and politician (died 2023) * 1926 – Dietmar Schönherr, Austrian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2014) * 1926 – Franz Sondheimer, German-English chemist and academic (died 1981) * 1929Branko Zebec, Croatian and Yugoslav football player and coach (died 1988) * 1931Marshall Applewhite, American cult leader, founded Heaven's Gate (died 1997) * 1931 –
Dewey Redman Walter Dewey Redman (May 17, 1931 – September 2, 2006) was an American saxophonist who performed free jazz as a bandleader with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett. Redman mainly played tenor saxophone, though he occasionally also played alto s ...
, American saxophonist (died 2006) *
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 ...
Rodric Braithwaite, English soldier and diplomat, British Ambassador to Russia * 1932 – Peter Burge, Australian cricketer (died 2001) * 1932 – Ozzie Virgil Sr., Dominican baseball player and coach (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 ...
Yelena Gorchakova, Russian javelin thrower (died 2002) *
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 ...
Friedrich-Wilhelm Kiel, German educator and politician (died 2022) * 1934 – Earl Morrall, American football player and coach (died 2014) * 1934 –
Ronald Wayne Ronald Gerald Wayne (born May 17, 1934) is an American retired electronics industry business executive. He co-founded Apple Computer Company (now Apple Inc.) as a partnership with Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs on April 1, 1976, providing admini ...
, American computer scientist, co-founded
Apple Computer Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Co ...
*
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 ...
Dennis Potter, English voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1994) *
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 ...
Dennis Hopper, American actor and director (died 2010) * 1937Hazel R. O'Leary, American lawyer and politician, 7th
United States Secretary of Energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States and fifteenth in the United States presidential line of succession, presidential line of succession. The po ...
*
1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...
Jason Bernard, American actor (died 1996) * 1938 – Marcia Freedman, Israeli activist (died 2021) * 1938 – Pervis Jackson, American R&B bass singer (died 2008) * 1939Hugh Dykes, Baron Dykes, English politician * 1939 – Gary Paulsen, American author (died 2021) *
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 ...
Alan Kay Alan Curtis Kay (born May 17, 1940) published by the Association for Computing Machinery 2012 is an American computer scientist who pioneered work on object-oriented programming and windowing graphical user interface (GUI) design. At Xerox ...
, American computer scientist and academic * 1940 – Reynato Puno, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 22nd
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines The chief justice of the Philippines () presides over the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Supreme Court and is the highest judicial officer of the government of the Philippines. As of April 5, 2021, the position is currently held by Alexander ...
* 1941David Cope, American composer and author * 1941 – Ben Nelson, American lawyer and politician, 37th Governor of Nebraska *
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 ...
Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
, American blues singer-songwriter and musician *
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 ...
Sirajuddin of Perlis, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia * 1943 – Johnny Warren, Australian footballer, coach, and sportscaster (died 2004) *
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 ...
Jesse Winchester, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (died 2014) * 1945B.S. Chandrasekhar, Indian cricketer * 1945 –
Tony Roche Anthony Dalton Roche Order of Australia, AO Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 17 May 1945) is an Australian former professional tennis player. A native of Tarcutta, Roche played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga ...
, Australian tennis player and coach *
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 ...
Udo Lindenberg, German singer-songwriter and drummer *
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 ...
Stephen Platten, English bishop *
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) ...
Dick Gaughan, Scottish 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 ...
Bill Bruford, English drummer, songwriter, and producer * 1949 – Keith, American pop singer *
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 ...
Howard Ashman, American playwright and composer (died 1991) * 1950 – Keith Bradley, Baron Bradley, English accountant and politician * 1950 – Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian economist and politician, 2nd
President of Slovenia The president of Slovenia, officially the president of the Republic of Slovenia (), is the head of state of Slovenia. The office was established on 23 December 1991 when the National Assembly (Slovenia), National Assembly passed a new ...
(died 2008) * 1950 – Alan Johnson, English politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer * 1950 – Valeriya Novodvorskaya, Russian journalist and politician (died 2014) *
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 ...
Simon Hughes, English lawyer and politician *
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, ...
Howard Hampton, Canadian lawyer and politician *
1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...
Michael Roberts, South African-English jockey * 1955Bill Paxton, American actor and director (died 2017) * 1955 – David Townsend, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2005) *
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 ...
Sugar Ray Leonard Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as Sugar Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professionally between 1977 and 1997, winning quintuple c ...
, American boxer * 1956 – Annise Parker, American politician * 1956 – Bob Saget, American comedian, actor, and television host (died 2022) * 1956 – Dave Sim, Canadian cartoonist and author *
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 ...
Pascual Pérez, Dominican baseball player (died 2012) * 1958Paul Di'Anno, English rock singer-songwriter (died 2024) * 1959Marcelo Loffreda, Argentine rugby player and coach * 1960Lou DiBella, American boxing promoter, actor, and producer * 1960 –
Simon Fuller Simon Robert Fuller (born 17 May 1960) is a British entrepreneur, artist manager, and film and television producer. He is the creator of the Idols (franchise), ''Idols'' TV format, including the British series ''Pop Idol'' and the American ser ...
, English talent manager and producer, created the '' Idols series'' * 1961Enya, Irish singer-songwriter and producer * 1961 – Jamil Azzaoui, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist * 1961 – Justin King, English businessman *
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 ...
Lise Lyng Falkenberg, Danish journalist and author * 1962 – Andrew Farrar, Australian rugby league player and coach * 1962 – Craig Ferguson, Scottish-American comedian, actor, and talk show host * 1962 – Jane Moore, English journalist and author * 1962 – Rosalind Picard, American computer scientist and engineer, co-founded Affectiva *
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 ...
Jon Koncak, American basketball player * 1963 – Page McConnell, American keyboard player and songwriter * 1964Stratos Apostolakis, Greek footballer and coach * 1964 – Mauro Martini, Italian race car driver * 1964 – Menno Oosting, Dutch tennis player (died 1999) *
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 ...
Trent Reznor, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer * 1965 – Jeremy Vine, English journalist and author * 1965 – Luann de Lesseps, American singer and television personality *
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 ...
Qusay Hussein, Iraqi soldier and politician (died 2003) * 1966 – Mark Kratzmann, Australian tennis player and coach * 1966 – Danny Manning, American basketball player and coach * 1966 – Gilles Quénéhervé, French sprinter *
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 ...
Mohamed Nasheed Mohamed Nasheed (; born 17 May 1967), also known as Anni (), is a Maldivians, Maldivian politician and activist who served as president of the Maldives from 2008 until his resignation in 2012. A founding member of the Maldivian Democratic Part ...
, Maldivian lawyer and politician 4th President of the Maldives * 1967 – Patrick Ortlieb, Austrian skier * 1968Dave Abbruzzese, American rock drummer and songwriter * 1969Keith Hill, English footballer and manager *
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 ...
Hubert Davis, American basketball player and coach * 1970 – Jordan Knight, American singer-songwriter and actor * 1970 – Matt Lindland, American mixed martial artist, wrestler, and politician * 1970 – Jodie Rogers, Australian diver * 1970 – René Vilbre, Estonian director and screenwriter *
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 ...
Mark Connors, Australian rugby player * 1971 – Shaun Hart, Australian footballer, coach, and sportscaster * 1971 – Stella Jongmans, Dutch athlete * 1971 – Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Dutch royal * 1971 – Gina Raimondo, Governor of Rhode Island *
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, ...
Barry Hayles, English born Jamaican international footballer *
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 ...
Josh Homme, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer * 1974Andrea Corr, Irish singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress * 1974 – Wiki González, Venezuelan baseball player * 1974 – Eddie Lewis, American international soccer 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. ...
Marcelinho Paraíba, Brazilian footballer * 1975 – Alex Wright, German wrestler *
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 ...
Kandi Burruss, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress * 1976 – Shayne Dunley, Australian rugby league player * 1976 – José Guillén, Dominican-American baseball player * 1976 – Daniel Komen, Kenyan runner * 1976 – Wang Leehom, American-Taiwanese singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director * 1976 – Mayte Martínez, Spanish runner * 1976 – Kirsten Vlieghuis, Dutch freestyle swimmer *
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 ...
John Foster, American baseball player and coach * 1978 – Paddy Kenny, English footballer * 1978 – Carlos Peña, Dominican-American baseball player * 1978 – Magdalena Zděnovcová, Czech tennis player *
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 ...
David Jarolím, Czech footballer * 1979 – Wayne Thomas, English footballer *
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 ...
Davor Džalto, Bosnian historian and philosopher * 1980 – Fredrik Kessiakoff, Swedish cyclist * 1980 – Alistair Overeem, Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer * 1980 – Ariën van Weesenbeek, Dutch drummer *
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 ...
Beñat Albizuri, Spanish cyclist * 1981 – Leon Osman, English footballer * 1981 – Lim Jeong-hee, South Korean singer * 1981 – Chris Skidmore, English historian and politician * 1981 – Giannis Taralidis, Greek footballer * 1982Matt Cassel, American football player * 1982 – Dan Hardy, English mixed martial artist * 1982 – Reiko Nakamura, Japanese swimmer * 1982 – Tony Parker, French-American basketball player * 1982 –
Chloe Smith Chloe Rebecca Smith (born 17 May 1982) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Norwich North from 2009 to 2024. She previously se ...
, English politician *
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 ...
Channing Frye, American basketball player * 1983 – Chris Henry, American football player (died 2009) * 1983 – Nicky Hofs, Dutch footballer * 1983 – Kevin Kingston, Australian rugby league player * 1983 – Jeremy Sowers, American baseball player * 1984Christian Bolaños, Costa Rican footballer * 1984 – Christine Ohuruogu, English runner * 1984 – Christine Robinson, Canadian water polo player * 1984 – Passenger, English singer-songwriter and musician *
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 ...
Teófilo Gutiérrez, Colombian footballer * 1985 – Derek Hough, American actor, singer, and dancer * 1985 – Christine Nesbitt, Canadian speed skater * 1985 – Todd Redmond, American baseball player * 1985 – Matt Ryan, American football player * 1986Marius Činikas, Lithuanian footballer * 1986 – Timo Simonlatser, Estonian skier * 1986 – Jodie Taylor, English footballer *
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 ...
Edvald Boasson Hagen, Norwegian cyclist * 1987 – Aleandro Rosi, Italian footballer * 1988Nikki Reed, American actress, singer, and screenwriter *
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 ...
Mose Masoe, New Zealand rugby league player * 1989 – Rain Raadik, Estonian basketball player * 1989 – Tessa Virtue, Canadian ice dancer * 1990Will Clyburn, American basketball player * 1990 – Fabian Giefer, German footballer * 1990 – Charlie Gubb, New Zealand rugby league player * 1990 – Katrina Hart, English runner * 1990 –
Guido Pella Guido Pella (; born 17 May 1990) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. In August 2019, Pella reached his career best world No. 20 in singles. In July 2019, he peaked at No. 55 in doubles. Personal life His father, Carlos, taught hi ...
, Argentine tennis player *
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 ...
Johanna Konta, Australian-English tennis player * 1991 – Adil Omar, Pakistani rapper and music producer * 1991 – Abigail Raye, Canadian field hockey player *
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 ...
Julie Anne San Jose, Filipina singer-songwriter


Deaths


Pre-1600

* 528Empress Dowager Hu of
Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an Dynasties of China, impe ...
* 528 – Yuan Yong, imperial prince of Northern Wei * 528 – Yuan Zhao, emperor of Northern Wei (born 526) * 896Liu Jianfeng, Chinese
warlord Warlords are individuals who exercise military, Economy, economic, and Politics, political control over a region, often one State collapse, without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over Militia, local ...
*
924 __NOTOC__ Year 924 (Roman numerals, CMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events January—March * January 5 – The monastery of San Martín de Albelda is founded in the Kingdom of Navarre in what is now ...
Li Maozhen Li Maozhen (; 856 – May 17, 924), born Song Wentong (), courtesy name Zhengchen (), formally Prince Zhongjing of Qin (), was the only ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Qi (901–924). He had become a powerful ...
, Chinese
warlord Warlords are individuals who exercise military, Economy, economic, and Politics, political control over a region, often one State collapse, without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over Militia, local ...
and king (born 856) * 946Al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah, Fatimid caliph (born 893) * 1299Daumantas of Pskov, Lithuanian prince (born c. 1240) * 1336Go-Fushimi, emperor of Japan (born 1288) *
1365 Year 1365 ( MCCCLXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * March 3 – Battle of Gataskogen: Albert of Mecklenburg defeats and captures Magnus Eriksson, obtaining the throne ...
Louis II, Elector of Brandenburg (born 1328) * 1395Konstantin Dejanović/Constantine Dragaš, Serbian ruler (born 1355) * 1464Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros, English politician (born 1427) *
1510 Year 1510 (Roman numerals, MDX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 23 – An 18-year-old Henry VIII of England jousts anonymously at Richmond, London, Richmond, Surrey ...
Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (born 1445) * 1521Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, Welsh politician, Lord High Constable of England (born 1478) * 1536George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford, English courtier and diplomat, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (born 1504) * 1536 – William Brereton, English courtier (born 1487) * 1536 – Henry Norris, English courtier (born 1482) * 1546Philipp von Hutten, German explorer (born 1511) * 1551Shin Saimdang, South Korean poet and calligraphist (born 1504) * 1558Francisco de Sá de Miranda, Portuguese poet (born 1485) * 1575Matthew Parker, English archbishop and academic (born 1504)


1601–1900

* 1606False Dmitriy I, pretender to the Russian throne (born 1582) * 1607Anna d'Este, French princess (born 1531) * 1626Joan Pau Pujol, Catalan organist and composer (born 1570) * 1643Giovanni Picchi, Italian organist and composer (born 1571) * 1727
Catherine I of Russia Catherine I Alekseyevna Mikhailova (born Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya; – ) was the second wife and Empress consort of Peter the Great, whom she succeeded as Empress of Russia, ruling from 1725 until her death in 1727. Life as a servant Onl ...
(born 1684) * 1729Samuel Clarke, English clergyman and philosopher (born 1675) * 1765Alexis Clairaut, French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (born 1713) * 1797Michel-Jean Sedaine, French playwright and composer (born 1719) * 1801William Heberden, English physician and scholar (born 1710) * 1807John Gunby, American general (born 1745) *
1809 Events January–March * January 5 – The Treaty of the Dardanelles, between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Ottoman Empire, is concluded. * January 10 – Peninsular War – French Marshal Jean ...
Leopold Auenbrugger, Austrian physician (born 1722) *
1822 Events January–March * January 1 – The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus. * January 3 – The famous French explorer, Aimé Bonpland, is imprisoned in Paraguay on charges of espionage. ...
Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu, French general and politician, 2nd
Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (), officially the prime minister of the French Republic (''Premier ministre de la République française''), is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of its Council of Ministers. The prime ...
(born 1766) * 1829
John Jay John Jay (, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, signatory of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served from 1789 to 1795 as the first chief justice of the United ...
, American politician and diplomat, 1st
Chief Justice of the United States The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Appointments Clause, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution g ...
(born 1745) * 1838René Caillié, French explorer and author (born 1799) * 1838 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French politician,
Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (), officially the prime minister of the French Republic (''Premier ministre de la République française''), is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of its Council of Ministers. The prime ...
(born 1754) * 1839Archibald Alison, Scottish priest and author (born 1757) * 1868Kondō Isami, Japanese commander (born 1834) * 1875John C. Breckinridge, American lawyer and politician, 14th
Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...
, Confederate States general (born 1821) * 1879Asa Packer, American businessman, founded
Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...
(born 1805) *
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 ...
Ziya Pasha, Greek author and translator (born 1826) *
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 ...
John Deere Deere & Company, Trade name, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, Transmission (mechanical device), transmi ...
, American blacksmith and businessman, founded the Deere & Company (born 1804) * 1888Giacomo Zanella, Italian priest and poet (born 1820)


1901–present

*
1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...
Frederick August Otto Schwarz, German-American businessman, founded FAO Schwarz (born 1836) * 1916Boris Borisovich Golitsyn, Russian physicist and seismologist (born 1862) *
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 ...
Clara Ayres, American nurse (born 1880) * 1917 – Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak (born 1829) * 1919
Guido von List Guido Karl Anton List (5 October 1848 – 17 May 1919), better known as Guido von List, was an Austrian occultist, journalist, playwright, and novelist. He expounded a modern Pagan new religious movement known as Wotanism, which he claimed w ...
, Austrian-German journalist, author, and poet (born 1848) * 1921Karl Mantzius, Danish actor and director (born 1860) * 1922Dorothy Levitt, English racing driver and journalist (born 1882) *
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 ...
Harold Geiger, American pilot and lieutenant (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 ...
Cass Gilbert Cass Gilbert (November 24, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was an American architect. An early proponent of Early skyscrapers, skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minneso ...
, American architect (born 1859) *
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 ...
Paul Dukas, French composer, critic, and educator (born 1865) *
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 ...
Panagis Tsaldaris, Greek lawyer and politician, 124th
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 1868) *
1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...
Jakob Ehrlich, Czech-Austrian academic and politician (born 1877) *
1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...
Johanna Elberskirchen, German author and activist (born 1864) *
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 ...
George Forbes, New Zealand farmer and politician, 22nd
Prime Minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand () is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Christopher Luxon, leader of the New Zealand National Party, took office on 27 November 2023. The prime minister (informally abbreviated to P ...
(born 1869) *
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 ...
William Birdwood, Anglo-Indian field marshal (born 1865) * 1960Jules Supervielle, Uruguayan-French poet and author (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 ...
John Wilce, American football player, coach, and physician (born 1888) * 1964Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-American psychologist and parapsychologist (born 1895) * 1974Ernest Nash, German-American photographer and scholar (born 1898) *
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 ...
Charles E. Rosendahl, American admiral and pilot (born 1892) *
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 ...
Gündüz Kılıç, Turkish football player and coach (born 1918) *
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 ...
Abe Burrows, American director, composer, and author (born 1910) *
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 ...
Gunnar Myrdal Karl Gunnar Myrdal ( ; ; 6 December 1898 – 17 May 1987) was a Swedish economist and sociologist. In 1974, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences along with Friedrich Hayek for "their pioneering work in the theory of money an ...
, Swedish economist, sociologist, and politician,
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 1898) *
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 ...
Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the ...
, American accordion player and bandleader (born 1903) * 1995Toe Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1912) * 1996Kevin Gilbert, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1966) *
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 ...
Bruce Fairbairn, Canadian trumpet player and producer (born 1949) * 1999 – Lembit Oll, Estonian chess Grandmaster (born 1966) *
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
Donald Coggan, English archbishop (born 1909) *
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 ...
Jacques-Louis Lions, French mathematician (born 1928) * 2001 – Frank G. Slaughter, American physician and author (born 1908) * 2002László Kubala, Hungarian-Spanish footballer, coach, and manager (born 1927) * 2002 – Aşık Mahzuni Şerif, Turkish poet and composer (born 1940) *
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 ...
Jørgen Nash, Danish poet and painter (born 1920) * 2004 – Tony Randall, American actor (born 1920) * 2004 – Ezzedine Salim, Iraqi politician (born 1943) *
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 ...
Frank Gorshin, American actor (born 1934) * 2006Cy Feuer, American director, producer, and composer (born 1911) *
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
Lloyd Alexander Lloyd Chudley Alexander (January 30, 1924 – May 17, 2007) was an American author of more than 40 books, primarily fantasy novels for children's literature, children and young adults. Over his seven-decade career, Alexander wrote 48 books, and ...
, American soldier and author (born 1924) * 2007 – T. K. Doraiswamy, Indian poet and author (born 1921) *
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 ...
Mario Benedetti, Uruguayan journalist, author, and poet (born 1920) * 2009 – Jung Seung-hye, South Korean journalist and producer (born 1965) *
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
Yvonne Loriod, French pianist, composer, and educator (born 1924) * 2010 – Walasse Ting, Chinese-American painter and poet (born 1929) *
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 ...
Harmon Killebrew, American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1936) *
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 ...
Gideon Ezra, Israeli geographer and politician, Israeli Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (born 1937) * 2012 – Patrick Mafisango, Congolese-Rwandan footballer (born 1980) * 2012 – Donna Summer, American singer-songwriter (born 1948) *
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 ...
Philippe Gaumont, French cyclist (born 1973) * 2013 – Peter Schulz, German politician,
Mayor of Hamburg The government of Hamburg is divided into Executive (government), executive, Legislature, legislative and judiciary, judicial branches. Hamburg is a city-state and municipality, and thus its governance deals with several details of both state and ...
(born 1930) * 2013 – Ken Venturi, American golfer and sportscaster (born 1931) * 2013 – Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentine Commander in Chief and dictator (born 1925) *
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 ...
Gerald Edelman, American biologist and immunologist,
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 1929) * 2014 – C. P. Krishnan Nair, Indian businessman, founded The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts (born 1922) * 2014 – Douangchay Phichit, Laotian politician (born 1944) * 2014 – Thongbanh Sengaphone, Laotian politician (born 1953) *
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 ...
Lionel Pickens, American rapper (born 1983) *
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 ...
Todor Veselinović, Serbian football player and manager (born 1930) *
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 ...
Herman Wouk, American author (born 1915) *
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
Lucky Peterson, American blues singer, keyboardist and guitarist (born 1964) *
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 ...
Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (, ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; , ), was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed ...
, Greek musician, composer (born 1943) *
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
Bud Anderson, American World War II flying ace (born 1922) *2024 – Sid Going, New Zealand rugby union footballer (born 1943)


Holidays and observances

* Birthday of the Raja (
Perlis Perlis (Kedah Malay language, Kedah Malay (Perlis dialect): ''Peghelih'') is a Negeri, state of Malaysia in the northwestern coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is the smallest state in Malaysia by area and population. The state borders the Thai ...
) *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 ...
: ** Giulia Salzano ** Paschal Baylon ** William Hobart Hare ( Episcopal Church (USA)) ** Restituta ** May 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) * Children's Day (Norway) *
Constitution Day Constitution Day is a holiday to honour the constitution of a country. Constitution Day is often celebrated on the anniversary of the signing, promulgation or adoption of the constitution, or in some cases, to commemorate the change to constitut ...
(
Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...
) * Constitution Day (Norway) * Feast of ‘Aẓamat (
Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
, day shifts with
March Equinox The March equinox or northward equinox is the equinox on the Earth when the subsolar point appears to leave the Southern Hemisphere and cross the celestial equator, heading northward as seen from Earth. The March equinox is known as the ver ...
, see List of observances set by the Baháʼí calendar) * Galician Literature Day or ''Día das Letras Galegas'' ( Galicia) * International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia *Liberation Day (
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
) *Navy Day (Argentina) *World Hypertension Day *World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (International observance, International)


References


External links


BBC: On This Day
*
Historical Events on May 17
{{months Days of May