Events

• 1325 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal.
• 1558 - France takes Calais, the last continental possession of England.
• 1598 - Boris Godunov becomes Tsar of Russia.
• 1608 - Fire destroys Jamestown, Virginia.
• 1610 - Galileo Galilei observes the four largest moons of Jupiter for the first time. He named them and in turn the four are called the Galilean moons.
• 1782 - The first American commercial bank, the Bank of North America, opens.
• 1785 - Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in a gas balloon.
• 1797 - The modern Italian flag is first used.
• 1835 - The HMS Beagle anchors off the Chonos Archipelago.
• 1894 - W.K. Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film.
• 1904 - The distress signal "CQD" is established only to be replaced two years later by "SOS".
• 1922 - Dáil Éireann ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by a 64-57 vote.
• 1927 - First transatlantic telephone call - New York City to London.
• 1931 - Guy Menzies flies the first solo non-stop trans-Tasman flight (from Australia to New Zealand) in 11 hours and 45 minutes, crash-landing on New Zealand's west coast.
• 1935 - Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval sign the Franco?Italian Agreement.
• 1942 - World War II: The siege of the Bataan Peninsula begins.
• 1945 - World War II: British General Bernard Montgomery holds a press conference in which he claims credit for victory in the Battle of the Bulge.
• 1950 - A fire at the Mercy Hospital in Davenport, Iowa, kills 41 people.
• 1953 - President Harry Truman announces that the United States has developed the hydrogen bomb.
• 1954 - Georgetown-IBM experiment, the first public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held in New York at the head office of IBM.
• 1959 - The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro.
• 1972 - Iberia Airlines Caravelle 6-R crashes into Mont San Jose on approach to Ibiza Airport killing all 104 on board.
• 1973 - Mark Essex fatally shoots 10 people and wounds 13 others at Howard Johnson?s Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana before being shot to death by police officers.
• 1979 - Phnom Penh falls to the advancing Vietnamese troops, driving out Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
• 1980 - President Jimmy Carter authorizes legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out the Chrysler Corporation.
• 1984 - Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
• 1990 - The interior of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public due to safety concerns.
• 1991 - Beginning of the operation Desert Storm, during the Gulf War.
• 1993 - The Fourth Republic of Ghana is inaugurated with Jerry Rawlings as President.
• 1999 - The impeachment of President Bill Clinton begins.

Births

• 1355 - Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, son of Edward III of England (d. 1397)
• 1502 - Pope Gregory XIII (d. 1585)
• 1528 - Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre (d. 1572)
• 1647 - Wilhelm Ludwig, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1677)
• 1685 - Jonas Alströmer, Swedish industrialist (d. 1761)
• 1706 - Johann Heinrich Zedler, German publisher (d. 1751)
• 1718 - Israel Putnam, American Revolutionary War general (d. 1790)
• 1768 - Joseph Bonaparte, King of Naples (d. 1844)
• 1786 - John Catron, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1865)
• 1796 - Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (d. 1817)
• 1800 - Millard Fillmore, 13th President of the United States (d. 1874)
• 1827 - Sir Sandford Fleming, Canadian engineer; introduced Universal Standard Time (d. 1915)
• 1830 - Albert Bierstadt, German-American painter (d. 1902)
• 1831 - Heinrich von Stephan, German labor organizer (d. 1897)
• 1832 - James Munro, Premier of Victoria (d. 1908)
• 1834 - Johann Philipp Reis, German physicist and inventor (d. 1874)
• 1844 - Bernadette Soubirous, French saint (d. 1879)
• 1845 - King Ludwig III of Bavaria (d. 1921)
• 1858 - Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, key figure in the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language (d. 1922)
• 1860 - Emanuil Manolov, Bulgarian composer (d. 1902)
• 1870 - Lord Gordon Hewart, British judge (d. 1943)
• 1871 - Émile Borel, French mathematician and politician (d. 1956)
• 1873 - Charles Péguy, French poet and essayist (d. 1914)
• 1873 - Adolph Zukor, Hungarian producer (d. 1976)
• 1875 - Gustav Flatow, German gymnast (d. 1945)
• 1875 - Thomas Hicks, American runner (d. 1963)
• 1876 - William Hurlstone, English composer (d. 1906)
• 1891 - Zora Neale Hurston, American writer (d. 1960)
• 1895 - Clara Haskil, Romanian pianist (d. 1960)
• 1895 - Sir Hudson Fysh, Australian aviator and co-founder of QANTAS (d. 1974)
• 1896 - Arnold Ridley, British playwright and actor (d. 1984)
• 1899 - Al Bowlly, British jazz singer (d. 1941)
• 1899 - Francis Poulenc, French composer (d. 1963)
• 1900 - John Brownlee, Australian tenor (d. 1969)
• 1903 - Warren Hull, American actor (d. 1974)
• 1903 - Alan Napier, English actor (d. 1988)
• 1907 - Nicanor Zabaleta, Spanish harpist (d. 1993)
• 1908 - Red Allen, American musician (d. 1967)
• 1910 - Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Pakistani poet (d. 1984)
• 1910 - Orval Faubus, Governor of Arkansas (d. 1994)
• 1911 - Butterfly McQueen, American actress (d. 1995)
• 1912 - Charles Addams, American cartoonist (d. 1988)
• 1912 - Günter Wand, German conductor, composer (d. 2002)
• 1913 - Johnny Mize, American baseball player (d. 1993)
• 1916 - Paul Keres, Estonian chess player (d. 1975)
• 1917 - Ulysses Kay, American composer (d. 1995)
• 1922 - Vincent Gardenia, Italian-born actor (d. 1992)
• 1922 - Jean-Pierre Rampal, French flutist (d. 2000)
• 1922 - Eric Jupp, British-born Australian composer, arranger, conductor (d. 2003)
• 1922 - Alvin Dark, American baseball player and manager
• 1923 - Hugh Kenner, Canadian literary critic (d. 2003)
• 1924 - Pablo Birger, Argentine racing driver (d. 1966)
• 1925 - Gerald Durrell, British naturalist (d. 1995)
• 1928 - William Peter Blatty, American screenwriter
• 1929 - Terry Moore, American actress
• 1932 - Joe Berinson, Australian politician
• 1933 - Elliott Kastner, U.S. film producer
• 1934 - Jean Corbeil, Canadian politician (d. 2002)
• 1934 - Charlie Jenkins, American runner
• 1935 - Kenny Davern, American jazz clarinetist (d. 2006)
• 1935 - Tommy Johnson, American tubist (d. 2006)
• 1935 - Valeri Kubasov, Soviet cosmonaut
• 1936 - Ben Cropp, Australian shark hunter and photographer
• 1936 - G. Robert Blakey, American attorney
• 1938 - Rory Storm, British singer (d. 1972)
• 1938 - Roland Topor, French illustrator (d. 1997)
• 1938 - Lou Graham, American golfer
• 1939 - Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark
• 1941 - Iona Brown, British violinist and conductor (d. 2004)
• 1941 - Manfred Schellscheidt, German American soccer coach
• 1941 - John E. Walker, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1942 - Danny Williams, South African singer (d. 2005)
• 1942 - Vasily Alexeev, Russian weightlifter
• 1942 - Jim Lefebvre, American baseball player and manager
• 1943 - Sadako Sasaki, Japanese child victim of the Hiroshima atomic bomb (d. 1955)
• 1943 - Sir Richard Armstrong, British conductor
• 1944 - Arne Scheie, Norwegian sports commentator
• 1944 - Tony Whitlam, Australian judge
• 1945 - Tony Conigliaro, American baseball player (d. 1990)
• 1945 - Gilles Marotte, French Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
• 1945 - Dick Marty, Swiss politician
• 1945 - Raila Odinga, Prime Minister of Kenya
• 1946 - Jann Wenner, American publisher
• 1947 - Shobha De, Indian writer
• 1948 - Kenny Loggins, American singer
• 1949 - Marshall Chapman, American singer/songwriter
• 1949 - Anne Schedeen, American actress
• 1949 - Steven Williams, American actor
• 1950 - Juan Gabriel, Mexican singer and songwriter
• 1950 - Erin Gray, American actress
• 1950 - Ross Grimsley, American baseball player
• 1950 - Johnny Lever, Indian actor
• 1951 - Helen Worth, British actress
• 1952 - Sammo Hung, Hong Kong actor
• 1956 - David Caruso, American actor
• 1956 - Mike Liut, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1957 - Nicholson Baker, American novelist
• 1957 - Katie Couric, American television host
• 1957 - Julian Solis, Puerto Rican boxer
• 1957 - Reena Roy, Indian actress
• 1958 - Linda Kozlowski, American actress
• 1958 - Donna Rice, American sex scandal figure
• 1959 - Kathy Valentine, American musician (The Go-Gos)
• 1960 - David Marciano, American actor
• 1960 - Loretta Sanchez, American politician
• 1961 - Andrew Thomson, Australian politician
• 1961 - Supriya Pathak, Indian actress
• 1961 - John Thune, American politician
• 1962 - Aleksandr Dugin, Russian politician
• 1963 - Clint Mansell, English musician and composer
• 1964 - Nicolas Cage, American actor
• 1966 - Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, American publicist (d. 1999)
• 1966 - Ehab Tawfik, Egyptian singer
• 1967 - Guy Hebert, American ice hockey player
• 1967 - Mark Lamarr, British comedian and broadcaster
• 1967 - Nick Clegg, British Liberal Democrat
• 1969 - David Yost, American actor
• 1970 - Doug E. Doug, American actor
• 1970 - Joao Ricardo, Angolan footballer
• 1971 - C.W. Anderson, American professional wrestler
• 1971 - Tina Anderson, American comic book writer
• 1971 - Jeremy Renner, American actor
• 1972 - Donald Brashear, American ice hockey player
• 1973 - Jonna Tervomaa, Finnish singer
• 1974 - John Rich, American musician (Big & Rich)
• 1976 - Éric Gagné, Canadian baseball player
• 1976 - Alfonso Soriano, Dominican baseball player
• 1977 - Michelle Behennah, British model
• 1977 - Dustin Diamond, American actor
• 1977 - John Gidding, American architect and TV host (Designed to Sell)
• 1978 - Kevin Mench, American baseball player
• 1979 - Bipasha Basu, Indian model
• 1979 - Mariangel Ruiz, Venezuelan actress and model
• 1979 - Ryan Tedder, American singer
• 1981 - Alex Auld, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1981 - Marquis Daniels, American basketball player
• 1982 - Francisco Rodriguez, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1982 - Hannah Stockbauer, German swimmer
• 1982 - Ianina Zanazzi, Argentine racing driver
• 1983 - Natalie Gulbis, American golfer
• 1983 - Liesbeth Mouha, Belgian beach volleyball player
• 1984 - Jon Lester, American baseball player
• 1985 - Lewis Hamilton, English F1 racing driver
• 1986 - Grant Leadbitter, English footballer
• 1988 - Haley Bennett, American Singer and Actress
• 1988 - Scott Pendlebury, Australian rules footballer
• 1988 - Robert Sheehan, Irish actor
• 1989 - Emiliano Insúa, Argentine footballer
• 1990 - Liam Aiken, American actor
• 1990 - Elene Gedevanishvili, Georgian figure skater
• 1990 - Camryn Grimes, American actress
• 1990 - Gregor Schlierenzauer, Austrian skijumper
• 1991 - Max Morrow, Canadian actor

Deaths

• 1285 - King Charles I of Naples (b. 1226)
• 1325 - King Dinis of Portugal (b. 1261)
• 1400 - Thomas Holland, 1st Duke of Surrey, English politician (b. 1374)
• 1451 - Count Amadeus VIII of Savoy (b. 1383)
• 1536 - Catherine of Aragon, consort of Henry VIII of England (b. 1485)
• 1566 - Louis de Blois, Flemish mystic (b. 1506)
• 1619 - Nicholas Hilliard, English painter (bc. 1547)
• 1625 - Ruggiero Giovannelli, Italian composer (bc. 1560)
• 1655 - Pope Innocent X (b. 1574)
• 1658 - Theophilus Eaton, American colonist (b. 1590)
• 1694 - Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, English general (bc. 1618)
• 1700 - Raffaello Fabretti, Italian antiquarian (b. 1618)
• 1715 - François Fénelon, French-Catholic theologian and writer (b. 1651)
• 1758 - Allan Ramsay, Scottish poet (b. 1686)
• 1767 - Thomas Clap, 1st president of Yale University (b. 1703)
• 1770 - Carl Gustaf Tessin, Swedish politician (b. 1695)
• 1783 - William Tans'ur, English hymnist (b. 1700)
• 1786 - Jean-Étienne Guettard, French physician and scientist (b. 1715)
• 1830 - Thomas Lawrence, English painter (b. 1769)
• 1864 - Caleb Blood Smith, 6th U.S. Secretary of the Interior (b. 1808)
• 1872 - James Fisk, American entrepreneur (b. 1834)
• 1876 - Juste Olivier, Swiss poet (b. 1807)
• 1878 - François-Vincent Raspail, French chemist (b. 1794)
• 1892 - Tewfik Pasha, Khedive of Egypt (b. 1852)
• 1893 - Jo?ef Stefan, Slovenian physicist and mathematician (b. 1835)
• 1913 - Jack Boyle, American baseball player (b. 1866)
• 1919 - Henry Ware Eliot American industrialist and philanthropist (b. 1843)
• 1920 - Edmund Barton, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1849)
• 1932 - André Maginot, French eponym of the Maginot Line (b. 1877)
• 1936 - Guy d'Hardelot, French composer, best known for Because (b. 1858)
• 1943 - Nikola Tesla, Serbian-born inventor and electrical engineer (b. 1856)
• 1944 - Lou Hoover, U.S. First Lady (b. 1874)
• 1944 - Napoleon Lapathiotis, Greek poet (b. 1888)
• 1946 - Adamo Didur, Polish tenor (b. 1874)
• 1951 - René Guénon, French-Egyptian author (b. 1886)
• 1953 - Osa Johnson, American explorer (b. 1894)
• 1960 - Dorothea Douglass Chambers (aka Katharine Lambert Chambers), UK tennis player (b. 1878)
• 1963 - Arthur Moore, Premier of Queensland (b. 1876)
• 1964 - Cyril Davies, American musician (b. 1932)
• 1967 - Carl Schuricht, German conductor (b. 1880)
• 1967 - David Goodis, American writer (b. 1917)
• 1968 - Prof James Smith, South African ichthyologist (b. 1897)
• 1972 - John Berryman, American poet (b. 1914)
• 1972 - Eftichia Papagianopoulos, Greek lyricist
• 1980 - Larry Williams, American singer and songwriter (b. 1935)
• 1981 - Alvar Lidell, UK radio broadcaster (b. 1908)
• 1981 - Eric Robinson, Australian politician (b. 1926)
• 1984 - Alfred Kastler, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
• 1985 - Mary Hardy, Australian radio and television presenter (b. 1931)
• 1986 - Philip D. Eastman, American children's book writer and illustrator (b. 1909)
• 1986 - Juan Rulfo, Mexican novelist (b. 1917)
• 1988 - Trevor Howard, English actor (b. 1913)
• 1988 - Michel Auclair, French actor (b. 1922)
• 1989 - Hirohito, Emperor of Japan (b. 1901)
• 1990 - Horace Stoneham, American baseball executive (b. 1903)
• 1990 - Bronko Nagurski, American football player (b. 1908)
• 1992 - Richard Hunt, American puppeteer (The Muppets) (b. 1951)
• 1995 - Murray Rothbard, American economist (b. 1926)
• 1996 - Tar? Okamoto, Japanese avant-garde artist (b. 1911)
• 1996 - Károly Grósz, Hungarian politician (b. 1930)
• 1998 - Vladimir Prelog, Croatian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
• 1998 - Owen Bradley, American record producer (b. 1915)
• 2000 - Gary Albright, American professional wrestler (b. 1963)
• 2002 - Avery Schreiber, American actor (b. 1935)
• 2002 - Jon Lee, Welsh musician (Feeder) (b. 1968)
• 2004 - Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (b. 1926)
• 2005 - Pierre Daninos, French novelist (b. 1913)
• 2005 - Eileen Desmond, Irish politician (b. 1932)
• 2006 - Heinrich Harrer, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1912)
• 2007 - Magnús Magnússon, Icelandic-born television presenter (b. 1929)
• 2007 - Bobby Hamilton, NASCAR team owner (b. 1957)
• 2008 - Alwyn Schlebusch, South African vice state president (b. 1917)

Holidays and observances

• European traditional - Distaff day: women's traditional work begins again after Epiphany.
• Italy - Tricolour day (Festa del Tricolore)
• Japan - Nanakusa (Seven Herbs Festival).
• Roman Catholic Church
  • St. Canute Lavard
  • St. Charles of Sezze
  • St. Lucian of Antioch
  • St. Raymond of Peńafort
  • Bl. Widukind, Duke of Saxony, (d. 807)
• Coptic Orthodox Church - Synaxis of John the Forerunner & Baptist
• Eastern Orthodox Church - St. John the Baptist
• Christmas Day in the Eastern Orthodox Churches and Oriental Orthodox Churches using the Julian Calendar
• January 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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