Events
Pre-1600
*
1395 –
Battle 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.
*
1521 –
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason.
*
1527 –
Pánfilo de Narváez departs Spain to
explore Florida with 600 men – by 1536 only four survive.
*
1536 –
George 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 ...
.
*
1863 –
Rosalía 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.
*
1969 –
Venera 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 ...
.
*
1984 –
Prince 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.
*
1995 –
Shawn 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)
*
1443 –
Edmund, Earl of Rutland (died 1460)
*
1451 –
Engelbert II of Nassau, Count of Nassau-Vianden and Lord of Breda (1475–1504) (died 1504)
*
1490 –
Albert, Duke of Prussia, last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (died 1568)
*
1500 –
Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (died 1540)
*
1551 –
Martin 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
*
1610 –
Stefano 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)
*
1636 –
Edward 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)
*
1698 –
Gio Nicola Buhagiar, Maltese painter (died 1752)
*
1706 –
Andreas Felix von Oefele, German historian and librarian (died 1780)
*
1718 –
Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English politician and diplomat,
Secretary of State for the Southern Department (died 1778)
*
1732 –
Francesco Pasquale Ricci, Italian violinist and composer (died 1817)
*
1743 –
Seth 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)
*
1758 –
Sir John St Aubyn, 5th Baronet, English politician (died 1839)
*
1768 –
Caroline 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)
*
1821 –
Sebastian Kneipp, German priest and therapist (died 1897)
*
1835 –
Thomas McIlwraith, Scottish-Australian politician, 8th
Premier of Queensland (died 1900)
*
1836 –
Virginie Loveling, Belgian author and poet (died 1923)
*
1845 –
Jacint 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)
*
1863 –
Léon Gérin, Canadian lawyer, sociologist, and civil servant (died 1951)
*
1864 –
Louis 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)
*
1868 –
Horace 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)
*
1873 –
Henri Barbusse, French author and journalist (died 1935)
* 1873 –
Dorothy Richardson, English author and journalist (died 1957)
*
1874 –
George Sheldon, American diver (died 1907)
*
1882 –
Karl 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)
*
1888 –
Tich Freeman, English cricketer (died 1965)
*
1889 –
Dorothy Gibson, American actress and singer (died 1946)
* 1889 –
Alfonso Reyes, Mexican author (died 1959)
*
1891 –
Napoleon Zervas, Greek general and politician (died 1957)
*
1893 –
Frederick McKinley Jones, American inventor and entrepreneur (died 1961)
*
1895 –
Saul 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)
*
1898 –
A. 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
*
1901 –
Werner Egk, German pianist and composer (died 1983)
*
1903 –
Cool Papa Bell, American baseball player and manager (died 1991)
*
1904 –
Marie-Anne Desmarest, French author (died 1973)
*
1906 –
Zinka Milanov, Croatian-American soprano and educator (died 1989)
*
1909 –
Julius 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)
*
1913 –
Hans Ruesch, Swiss racing driver and author (died 2007)
*
1914 –
Robert 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)
*
1919 –
Antonio Aguilar, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and screenwriter (died 2007)
* 1919 –
Gustav Naan, Russian-Estonian physicist and philosopher (died 1994)
*
1920 –
Harry Männil, Estonian-Venezuelan businessman, co-founded
ACO Group (died 2010)
*
1921 –
Dennis Brain, English horn player (died 1957)
* 1921 –
Bob Merrill, American composer and screenwriter (died 1998)
*
1922 –
Jean Rédélé, French racing driver, founded
Alpine (died 2007)
*
1923 –
Michael Beetham, English commander and pilot (died 2015)
*
1924 –
Roy Bentley, English footballer (died 2018)
* 1924 –
Francis Tombs, Baron Tombs, English engineer and politician (died 2020)
*
1926 –
David 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)
*
1929 –
Branko Zebec, Croatian and Yugoslav football player and coach (died 1988)
*
1931 –
Marshall 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)
*
1937 –
Hazel 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)
*
1939 –
Hugh 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 ...
*
1941 –
David 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)
*
1945 –
B.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
*
1955 –
Bill 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)
*
1958 –
Paul Di'Anno, English rock singer-songwriter (died 2024)
*
1959 –
Marcelo Loffreda, Argentine rugby player and coach
*
1960 –
Lou 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''
*
1961 –
Enya, 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
*
1964 –
Stratos 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
*
1968 –
Dave Abbruzzese, American rock drummer and songwriter
*
1969 –
Keith 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
*
1974 –
Andrea 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
*
1982 –
Matt 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
*
1984 –
Christian 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
*
1986 –
Marius 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
*
1988 –
Nikki 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
*
1990 –
Will 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
*
528 –
Empress 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)
*
896 –
Liu 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)
*
946 –
Al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah, Fatimid caliph (born 893)
*
1299 –
Daumantas of Pskov, Lithuanian prince (born c. 1240)
*
1336 –
Go-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)
*
1395 –
Konstantin Dejanović/Constantine Dragaš, Serbian ruler (born 1355)
*
1464 –
Thomas 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)
*
1521 –
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, Welsh politician,
Lord High Constable of England (born 1478)
*
1536 –
George 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)
*
1546 –
Philipp von Hutten, German explorer (born 1511)
*
1551 –
Shin Saimdang, South Korean poet and calligraphist (born 1504)
*
1558 –
Francisco de Sá de Miranda, Portuguese poet (born 1485)
*
1575 –
Matthew Parker, English archbishop and academic (born 1504)
1601–1900
*
1606 –
False Dmitriy I, pretender to the Russian throne (born 1582)
*
1607 –
Anna d'Este, French princess (born 1531)
*
1626 –
Joan Pau Pujol, Catalan organist and composer (born 1570)
*
1643 –
Giovanni 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)
*
1729 –
Samuel Clarke, English clergyman and philosopher (born 1675)
*
1765 –
Alexis Clairaut, French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (born 1713)
*
1797 –
Michel-Jean Sedaine, French playwright and composer (born 1719)
*
1801 –
William Heberden, English physician and scholar (born 1710)
*
1807 –
John 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)
*
1838 –
René 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)
*
1839 –
Archibald Alison, Scottish priest and author (born 1757)
*
1868 –
Kondō Isami, Japanese commander (born 1834)
*
1875 –
John 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)
*
1879 –
Asa 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)
*
1888 –
Giacomo 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)
*
1916 –
Boris 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)
*
1921 –
Karl Mantzius, Danish actor and director (born 1860)
*
1922 –
Dorothy 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)
*
1960 –
Jules 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)
*
1964 –
Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-American psychologist and parapsychologist (born 1895)
*
1974 –
Ernest 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)
*
1995 –
Toe Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1912)
*
1996 –
Kevin 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)
*
2002 –
László 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)
*
2006 –
Cy 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