Events

Pre-1600

  • 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula.
  • 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt.
  • 1438 – The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV.
  • 1458 – Matthias Corvinus is elected King of Hungary.
  • 1536 – King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his later erratic behaviour and possible impotence.

1601–1900

  • 1651 – Arauco War: Spanish and Mapuche authorities meet in the Parliament of Boroa renewing the fragile peace established at the parliaments of Quillín in 1641 and 1647.
  • 1679 – King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament.
  • 1742 – Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
  • 1758 – During the Seven Years' War the leading burghers of Königsberg submit to Elizabeth of Russia, thus forming Russian Prussia (until 1763).
  • 1817 – Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of Juan Gregorio de las Heras are captured during the action of Picheuta.
  • 1835 – Slaves in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, stage a revolt, which is instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later.
  • 1848 – California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento.
  • 1857 – The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first fully fledged university in South Asia.
  • 1859 – The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later named Romania) is formed as a personal union under the rule of Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza.
  • 1900 – Second Boer War: Boers stop a British attempt to break the Siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Spion Kop.

1901–present

  • 1908 – The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell.
  • 1915 – World War I: British Grand Fleet battle cruisers under Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty engage Rear-Admiral Franz von Hipper's battle cruisers in the Battle of Dogger Bank.
  • 1916 – In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.
  • 1918 – The Gregorian calendar is introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People's Commissars effective February 14 (New Style).
  • 1933 – The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices.
  • 1935 – Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company starts selling the first canned beer.
  • 1939 – The deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes Chillán, killing approximately 28,000 people.
  • 1942 – World War II: The Allies bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand, then under Japanese control, to declare war against the United States and United Kingdom.
  • 1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.
  • 1946 – The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.
  • 1960 – Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as the "barricades week", during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.
  • 1961 – Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost.
  • 1966 – Air India Flight 101 crashes into Mont Blanc.
  • 1968 – Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launches Operation Coburg against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during wider fighting around Long Bình and Biên Hòa.
  • 1972 – Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.
  • 1977 – The Atocha massacre occurs in Madrid during the Spanish transition to democracy.
  • 1978 – Soviet satellite Kosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered.
  • 1986 – The Voyager 2 space probe makes its closest approach to Uranus.
  • 1987 – About 20,000 protestors march in a civil rights demonstration in Forsyth County, Georgia, United States.
  • 1988 – An Aeroflot Yakovlev Yak-40 crashes at Nizhnevartovsk Airport, killing 27 people.
  • 1990 – Japan launches Hiten, the country's first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States.
  • 2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
  • 2009 – Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France, causing 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies.
  • 2011 – At least 35 are killed and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport.
  • 2018 – Former doctor Larry Nassar is sentenced up to 175 years in prison after being found guilty of using his position to sexually abuse female gymnasts.
  • 2024 – An Ilyushin Il-76 crashes in Russia's Korochansky District, killing all 74 people on board.
  • 2026 – At least 70 people are killed and 10 others missing after major landslides in West Java, Indonesia.

Births

Pre-1600

  • 76 – Hadrian, Roman emperor (died 138)
  • 1287 – Richard de Bury, English bishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (died 1345)
  • 1444 – Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (died 1476)
  • 1547 – Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Austrian Archduchess (died 1578)

1601–1900

  • 1602 – Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland, English politician (died 1666)
  • 1619 – Yamazaki Ansai, Japanese philosopher (died 1682)
  • 1643 – Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet and politician, Lord Chamberlain of Great Britain (died 1706)
  • 1664 – John Vanbrugh, English architect and dramatist (died 1726)
  • 1670 – William Congreve, English playwright and poet (died 1729)
  • 1672 – Margrave Albert Frederick of Brandenburg-Schwedt, German Lieutenant General (died 1731)
  • 1674 – Thomas Tanner, English bishop (died 1735)
  • 1679 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher and academic (died 1754)
  • 1684 – Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, German noble (died 1737)
  • 1705 – Farinelli, Italian castrato singer (died 1782)
  • 1709 – Dom Bédos de Celles, French monk and organist (died 1779)
  • 1712 – Frederick the Great, Prussian king (died 1786)
  • 1732 – Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright and financier (died 1799)
  • 1739 – Jean Nicolas Houchard, French General of the French Revolution (died 1793)
  • 1746 – Gustav III of Sweden (died 1792)
  • 1749 – Charles James Fox, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (died 1806)
  • 1754 – Andrew Ellicott, American soldier and surveyor (died 1820)
  • 1763 – Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron, French-Ukrainian general and politician (died 1831)
  • 1776 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German jurist, author, and composer (died 1822)
  • 1843 – Josip Stadler, Croatian archbishop (died 1918)
  • 1848 – Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (died 1916)
  • 1858 – Constance Naden, English poet and philosopher (died 1889)
  • 1862 – Edith Wharton, American novelist and short story writer (died 1937)
  • 1864 – Marguerite Durand, French actress, journalist, and activist (died 1936)
  • 1866 – Jaan Poska, Estonian lawyer and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 1920)
  • 1869 – Helena Maud Brown Cobb, American educator and missionary (died 1922)
  • 1885 – Marjory Stephenson, British biochemist (died 1948)
  • 1886 – Henry King, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1982)
  • 1887 – Jean-Henri Humbert, French botanist (died 1967)
  • 1888 – Vicki Baum, Austrian author and screenwriter (died 1960)
  • 1888 – Ernst Heinkel, German engineer and businessman, founded the Heinkel Aircraft Manufacturing Company (died 1958)
  • 1889 – Victor Eftimiu, Romanian poet and playwright (died 1972)
  • 1889 – Charles Hawes, American historian and author (died 1923)
  • 1889 – Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, German general of paratroop forces during World War II (died 1968)
  • 1891 – Walter Model, German field marshal (died 1945)
  • 1892 – Franz Aigner, Austrian weightlifter (died 1970)
  • 1895 – Eugen Roth, German poet and songwriter (died 1976)
  • 1897 – Paul Fejos, Hungarian-born American director (died 1963)
  • 1899 – Hoyt Vandenberg, U.S. Air Force general (died 1954)
  • 1900 – René Guillot, French writer (died 1969)

1901–present

  • 1901 – Harry Calder, South African cricketer (died 1995)
  • 1901 – Cassandre, French painter (died 1968)
  • 1901 – Edward Turner, English engineer (died 1973)
  • 1905 – J. Howard Marshall, American lawyer and businessman (died 1995)
  • 1906 – Wilfred Jackson, American animator and composer (died 1988)
  • 1907 – Maurice Couve de Murville, French soldier and politician, Prime Minister of France (died 1999)
  • 1907 – Jean Daetwyler, Swiss composer and musician (died 1994)
  • 1907 – Ismail Nasiruddin of Terengganu, fourth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (died 1979)
  • 1909 – Martin Lings, English author and scholar (died 2005)
  • 1909 – Ester Šimerová-Martinčeková, Slovak painter (died 2005)
  • 1910 – Doris Haddock, American political activist (died 2010)
  • 1912 – Frederick Ashworth, American admiral (died 2005)
  • 1913 – Norman Dello Joio, American organist and composer (died 2008)
  • 1913 – Ray Stehr, Australian rugby league player and coach (died 1983)
  • 1915 – Vítězslava Kaprálová, Czech composer and conductor (died 1940)
  • 1915 – Robert Motherwell, American painter and academic (died 1991)
  • 1916 – Rafael Caldera, Venezuelan lawyer and politician, 65th President of Venezuela (died 2009)
  • 1916 – Gene Mako, Hungarian-American tennis player and actor (died 2013)
  • 1917 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (died 2012)
  • 1924 – Karpoori Thakur, Indian politician, 11th Chief Minister of Bihar (died 1988)
  • 1925 – Gus Mortson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2015)
  • 1925 – Maria Tallchief, American ballerina and actress (died 2013) (died 2026)
  • 1928 – Michel Serrault, French actor (died 2007)
  • 1930 – Terence Bayler, New Zealand actor (died 2016)
  • 1930 – Mahmoud Farshchian, Iranian-Persian painter and academic (died 2025)
  • 1930 – John Romita Sr., American comic book artist (died 2023)
  • 1931 – Lars Hörmander, Swedish mathematician and academic (died 2012)
  • 1934 – Leonard Goldberg, American producer (died 2019)
  • 1934 – Stanisław Grochowiak, Polish poet and dramatist (died 1976)
  • 1935 – Shivabalayogi, Indian religious leader (died 1994)
  • 1936 – Doug Kershaw, American fiddle player and singer
  • 1940 – Joachim Gauck, German pastor and politician, 11th President of Germany
  • 1941 – Neil Diamond, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1941 – Aaron Neville, American singer
  • 1941 – Dan Shechtman, Israeli chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1942 – Ingo Friedrich, German Member of the European Parliament
  • 1942 – Gary Hart, American wrestler and manager (died 2008)
  • 1943 – Barry Mealand, English footballer (died 2013)
  • 1943 – Peter Struck, German lawyer and politician, 13th German Federal Minister of Defence (died 2012)
  • 1943 – Sharon Tate, American model and actress (died 1969)
  • 1949 – John Belushi, American actor and screenwriter (died 1982)
  • 1951 – Yakov Smirnoff, Ukrainian-American comedian and actor
  • 1959 – Akira Maeda, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and actor
  • 1959 – Michel Preud'homme, Belgian footballer and manager
  • 1960 – Jack Neo, Singaporean filmmaker, director and actor
  • 1961 – Jorge Barrios, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1961 – Guido Buchwald, German footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Christa Kinshofer, German ski racer
  • 1961 – Nastassja Kinski, German-American actress and producer
  • 1961 – William Van Dijck, Belgian runner
  • 1963 – Arnold Vanderlyde, Dutch boxer
  • 1965 – Mike Awesome, American wrestler (died 2007)
  • 1965 – Carlos Saldanha, Brazilian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Margaret Urlich, New Zealand singer-songwriter (died 2022)
  • 1965 – Pagonis Vakalopoulos, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1966 – Julie Dreyfus, French actress
  • 1966 – Karin Viard, French actress
  • 1967 – Michael Kiske, German singer
  • 1967 – Phil LaMarr, American actor and comedian
  • 1969 – Yoo Ho-jeong, South Korean actress
  • 1969 – Carlos Rômulo Gonçalves e Silva, Brazilian religious leader, Bishop of Montenegro
  • 1970 – Roberto Bonano, Argentine footballer
  • 1970 – Luke Egan, Australian surfer
  • 1970 – Neil Johnson, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1970 – Matthew Lillard, American actor
  • 1986 – Vladislav Ivanov, Russian footballer
  • 1986 – Michael Kightly, English footballer
  • 1986 – Sean McVay, American football coach
  • 1986 – Ricky Ullman, Israeli-American actor
  • 1987 – Brian Cushing, American football player
  • 1987 – Luis Suárez, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1987 – Kia Vaughn, American-Czech basketball player
  • 1987 – Guan Xin, Chinese basketball player
  • 1988 – Selina Jörg, German snowboarder
  • 1988 – DaJuan Summers, American basketball player
  • 1989 – Serdar Kesimal, Turkish footballer
  • 1989 – Gong Lijiao, Chinese shot putter
  • 1989 – Whit Merrifield, American baseball player
  • 1989 – José Quintana, Colombian baseball player
  • 1989 – Ki Sung-yueng, South Korean footballer
  • 1990 – Mao Abe, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1991 – Zhan Beleniuk, Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler
  • 1991 – Tatiana Kashirina, Russian weightlifter
  • 1991 – Zack Kassian, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1999 – Vitalie Damașcan, Moldovan footballer
  • 1999 – Niki, Indonesian singer and songwriter
  • 1999 – Tristan Wirfs, American football player
  • 2003 – Johnny Orlando, Canadian singer and songwriter
  • 2012 – Princess Athena of Denmark

Deaths

Pre-1600

  • 41 – Caligula, Roman emperor (born 12)
  • 817 – Pope Stephen IV (born 770)
  • 901 – Liu Jishu, general of the Tang Dynasty
  • 1046 – Eckard II, Margrave of Meissen (born c. 985)
  • 1125 – David IV of Georgia (born 1073)
  • 1336 – Alfonso IV of Aragon (born 1299)
  • 1376 – Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, English commander (born 1306)
  • 1473 – Conrad Paumann, German organist and composer (born 1410)
  • 1525 – Franciabigio, Florentine painter (born 1482)
  • 1595 – Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (born 1529)

1601–1900

  • 1626 – Samuel Argall, English captain and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (born 1572)
  • 1639 – Jörg Jenatsch, Swiss pastor and politician (born 1596)
  • 1666 – Johann Andreas Herbst, German composer and theorist (born 1588)
  • 1709 – George Rooke, English admiral and politician (born 1650)
  • 1877 – Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist and journalist (born 1796)
  • 1881 – James Collinson, English painter (born 1825)
  • 1883 – Friedrich von Flotow, German composer (born 1812)
  • 1895 – Lord Randolph Churchill, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (born 1849)

1901–present

  • 1920 – Percy French, Irish songwriter, entertainer and artist (born 1854)
  • 1920 – Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (born 1884)
  • 1939 – Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician, created Muesli (born 1867)
  • 1946 – Morris Alexander, South African politician (born 1877)
  • 1960 – Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (born 1886)
  • 1961 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American pole vaulter and businessman, founded the A. C. Gilbert Company (born 1884)
  • 1962 – André Lhote, French sculptor and painter (born 1885)
  • 1962 – Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Turkish author, poet, and scholar (born 1901)
  • 1965 – Winston Churchill, English statesman, soldier, and writer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1874)
  • 1966 – Homi J. Bhabha, Indian physicist and academic (born 1909)
  • 1970 – Caresse Crosby, American fashion designer and publisher, co-founded the Black Sun Press (born 1891)
  • 1971 – Bill W., American activist, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (born 1895)
  • 1973 – J. Carrol Naish, American actor (born 1896)
  • 1975 – Larry Fine, American comedian (born 1902)
  • 1982 – Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian general and politician, 56th President of Bolivia (born 1918)
  • 1983 – George Cukor, American director and producer (born 1899)
  • 1986 – L. Ron Hubbard, American religious leader and author, founded the Church of Scientology (born 1911)
  • 1986 – Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (born 1921)
  • 1988 – Werner Fenchel, German-Danish mathematician and academic (born 1905)
  • 1989 – Ted Bundy, American serial killer (born 1946)
  • 1990 – Madge Bellamy, American actress (born 1899)
  • 1991 – Jack Schaefer, American journalist and author (born 1907)
  • 1992 – Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (born 1909)
  • 1993 – Gustav Ernesaks, Estonian composer and conductor (born 1908)
  • 1993 – Thurgood Marshall, American lawyer and jurist, 32nd United States Solicitor General (born 1908)
  • 1993 – Uğur Mumcu, Turkish investigative journalist (born 1942)
  • 2001 – Gaffar Okkan, Turkish police chief (born 1952)
  • 2002 – Elie Hobeika, Lebanese commander and politician (born 1956)
  • 2003 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman (born 1921)
  • 2004 – Leônidas, Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1913)
  • 2006 – Schafik Handal, Salvadoran politician (born 1930)
  • 2007 – Krystyna Feldman, Polish actress (born 1916)
  • 2007 – İsmail Cem İpekçi, Turkish journalist and politician, 45th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1940)
  • 2007 – Guadalupe Larriva, Ecuadorian academic and politician (born 1956)
  • 2007 – Emiliano Mercado del Toro, Puerto Rican-American soldier (born 1891)
  • 2008 – Usha Narayanan, Burmese-born First Lady of India (born 1922)
  • 2010 – Pernell Roberts, American actor (born 1928)
  • 2011 – Bernd Eichinger, German director and producer (born 1949)
  • 2014 – Shulamit Aloni, Israeli lawyer and politician, 11th Israeli Minister of Education (born 1928)
  • 2014 – Rafael Pineda Ponce, Honduran academic and politician (born 1930)
  • 2015 – Otto Carius, German lieutenant and pharmacist (born 1922)
  • 2016 – Fredrik Barth, German-Norwegian anthropologist and academic (born 1928)
  • 2016 – Marvin Minsky, American computer scientist and academic (born 1927)
  • 2016 – Henry Worsley, English colonel and explorer (born 1960)
  • 2017 – Helena Kmieć, Polish Roman Catholic missionary (born 1991)
  • 2017 – Butch Trucks, American drummer (born 1947)
  • 2018 – Mark E. Smith, British singer-songwriter (born 1957)
  • 2019 – Rosemary Bryant Mariner, American United States Naval Aviator (born 1953)
  • 2025 – Iris Cummings, American swimmer and aviator (born 1920)

Holidays and observances

  • Christian feast day:
  • Babylas of Antioch
  • Exuperantius of Cingoli
  • Feast of Our Lady of Peace (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances:
  • Feria de Alasitas (La Paz)
  • Uttar Pradesh Day (Uttar Pradesh, India)
  • National Girl Child Day (India)

References

  • BBC: On This Day
  • Historical Events on January 24