Events

• 904 – Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.

• 1676 – Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia.

• 1814 – France defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne.

• 1834 – US President Andrew Jackson orders first use of federal soldiers to suppress a labor dispute.

• 1845 – "The Raven" is published in the New York Evening Mirror, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe

• 1850 – Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress.

• 1856 – Queen Victoria institutes the Victoria Cross.

• 1861 – Kansas is admitted as the 34th U.S. state.

• 1863 – Bear River Massacre.

• 1886 – Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.

• 1891 – Liliuokalani is proclaimed Queen of Hawaii, its last monarch.

• 1900 – The American League is organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with 8 founding teams.

• 1916 – World War I: Paris is first bombed by German zeppelins.

• 1936 – The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced.

• 1940 – Three trains on the Sakurajima Line, in Osaka, Japan, collide and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi Station. 181 people are killed.

• 1943 – The first day of the Battle of Rennell Island, U.S. cruiser Chicago is torpedoed and heavily damaged by Japanese bombers.

• 1944 – the last battleship commissioned by the United States Navy is launched.

• 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Cisterna takes place in central Italy.

• 1944 – World War II: Approximately 38 men, women, and children die in the Koniuchy massacre in Poland.

• 1944 – In Bologna, Italy, the Anatomical Theatre of the Archiginnasio is destroyed in an air-raid.

• 1963 – The first inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are announced.

• 1979 – Brenda Spencer kills two people and wounds eight at the Grover Cleveland Elementary School shootings.

• 1985 – Final recording session of We Are The World, by the supergroup USA for Africa.

• 1989 – Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making it the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so

• 1996 – President Jacques Chirac announces a "definitive end" to French nuclear weapons testing.

• 1996 – La Fenice, Venice's opera house, is destroyed by fire.

• 1998 – In Birmingham, Alabama, a bomb explodes at an abortion clinic, killing one and severely wounding another. Serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph is suspected as the culprit.

• 2001 – Thousands of student protesters in Indonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals.

• 2002 – In his State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush describes "regimes that sponsor terror" as an Axis of Evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

• 2005 – The first direct commercial flights from mainland China (from Guangzhou) to Taiwan since 1949 arrived in Taipei. Shortly afterwards, a China Airlines flight lands in Beijing.

Births

• 1584 – Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (d. 1647)

• 1632 – Johann Georg Graevius, German classical scholar and critic (d. 1703)

• 1688 – Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish scientist and philosopher (d. 1772)

• 1711 – Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (d. 1788)

• 1715 – Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Austrian composer (d. 1777)

• 1717 – Jeffrey Amherst, British military leader (d. 1797)

• 1718 – Paul Rabaut, French Huguenot pastor (d. 1794)

• 1737 – Thomas Paine, English-born American patriot (d. 1809)

• 1749 – King Christian VII of Denmark (d. 1808)

• 1754 – Moses Cleaveland, founder of Cleveland (d. 1806)

• 1756 – Henry Lee III, American General (d. 1818)

• 1761 – Albert Gallatin, Swiss-American United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1849)

• 1782 – Daniel Auber, French composer (d. 1871)

• 1801 – Horatia Nelson, daughter of Emma Hamilton and Horatio Nelson (d. 1881)

• 1810 – Ernst Kummer, German mathematician (d. 1893)

• 1843 – William McKinley, 25th President of the United States (d. 1901)

• 1846 – Karol Olszewski, Polish scientist (d. 1915)

• 1860 – Anton Chekhov, Russian writer (d. 1904)

• 1862 – Frederick Delius, English composer (d. 1934)

• 1866 – Romain Rolland, French writer, Nobel Laureate (d. 1944)

• 1866 – Julio Peris Brell, Spanish painter (d. 1944)

• 1867 – Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, Spanish writer (d. 1928)

• 1874 – John D. Rockefeller Jr., American entrepreneur (d. 1960)

• 1876 – Havergal Brian, British composer (d. 1972)

• 1877 – Georges Catroux, French general (d. 1969)

• 1880 – W. C. Fields, American actor (d. 1946)

• 1888 – Sydney Chapman, British mathematician and geophysicist (d. 1970)

• 1891 – Elizaveta Gerdt, Russian ballerina (d. 1975)

• 1891 – R. Norris Williams, American survivor of the RMS Titanic sinking (d. 1968)

• 1895 – Muna Lee, American poet (d. 1965)

• 1901 – Allen B. DuMont, American scientist and inventor (d. 1965)

• 1905 – Barnett Newman, American painter (d. 1970)

• 1910 – Colin Middleton, Irish artist (d. 1983)

• 1911 – Peter von Siemens, German industrialist (d. 1986)

• 1913 – Victor Mature, American actor (d. 1999)

• 1913 – Daniel Taradash, American screenwriter (d. 2003)

• 1913 – Peter von Zahn, German journalist and writer (d. 2001)

• 1915 – John Serry, Sr., American musician and arranger (d. 2003)

• 1918 – John Forsythe, American actor (d. 2010)

• 1920 – José Luis de Villalonga, Spanish aristocrat (d. 2007)

• 1921 – Anthony George, American actor (d. 2005)

• 1922 – Gerda Steinhoff, Nazi concentration camp supervisor (d. 1946)

• 1923 – Paddy Chayefsky, American writer (d. 1981)

• 1923 – Ivo Robic, Croatian singer and songwriter (d. 2000)

• 1924 – Luigi Nono, Italian composer (d. 1990)

• 1924 – Marcelle Ferron, Quebec painter and stained glass artist (d. 2001)

• 1924 – Peter Voulkos, American artist (d. 2002)

• 1926 – Franco Cerri, Italian musician

• 1926 – Abdus Salam, Pakistani physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1996)

• 1927 – Edward Abbey, American author and environmentalist (d. 1989)

• 1928 – Lee Shau Kee, Hong Kong property developer

• 1930 – Derek Bailey, English guitar virtuoso (d. 2005)

• 1930 – John Junkin, English radio, television and film performer (d. 2006)

• 1932 – Tommy Taylor, English footballer (d. 1958)

• 1932 – George Allen, English footballer

• 1933 – Sacha Distel, French singer and guitarist (d. 2004)

• 1933 – Paul Sally, American mathematician

• 1933 – Hugo Herrestrup, Danish actor

• 1936 – James Jamerson, American bass guitarist for Motown Records (d. 1983)

• 1939 – Germaine Greer, Australian writer

• 1940 – Katharine Ross, American actress

• 1940 – Kunimitsu Takahashi, Japanese motorcycle racer and racing driver

• 1941 – Robin Morgan, American feminist and activist

• 1942 – Claudine Longet, French singer and dancer

• 1944 – Andrew Loog Oldham, English rock and roll producer

• 1944 – Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda

• 1944 – Patrick Lipton Robinson, Jamaican judge

• 1945 – Jim Nicholson, Irish politician

• 1945 – Tom Selleck, American actor, screenwriter and film producer

• 1947 – Linda B. Buck, American scientist, Nobel laureate

• 1947 – David Byron, English singer (Uriah Heep) (d. 1985)

• 1947 – Marián Varga, Slovak musician

• 1948 – Cristina Saralegui, American talk-show host

• 1948 – Marc Singer, Canadian-born actor

• 1948 – Pat Kenny, Irish TV presenter and radio host

• 1950 – Ann Jillian, American actress

• 1950 – Jody Scheckter, South African race car driver

• 1951 – Andy Roberts, West Indian cricketer

• 1952 – Tommy Ramone, Hungarian-born musician and record producer (The Ramones)

• 1952 – Rupert Hanley, South African cricketer

• 1953 – Paulin Bordeleau, Quebec ice hockey player

• 1953 – Hwang Woo-Suk, South Korean biomedical scientist

• 1953 – Teresa Teng, Taiwanese singer (d. 1995)

• 1953 – Lynne McGranger, Australian actress

• 1954 – Richard Manitoba, American singer (The Dictators and MC5)

• 1954 – Terry Kinney, American actor

• 1954 – Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host and actress

• 1954 – Doug Risebrough, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and executive

• 1955 – Eddie Jordan, American basketball player and head coach

• 1957 – Grazyna Miller, Italian poet, translator, and journalist

• 1957 – Rino Schreuder, Dutch publisher

• 1960 – Matthew Ashford, American actor

• 1960 – Gia Carangi, American model (d. 1986)

• 1960 – Sean Kerly, English field hockey player

• 1960 – Greg Louganis, American diver

• 1960 – Steve Sax, American baseball player

• 1960 – J. G. Thirlwell, Australian-born musician

• 1962 – Nicholas Turturro, American actor

• 1963 – Bob Holly, American professional wrestler

• 1963 – Monica Horan, American actress

• 1964 – Andre Reed, American football player

• 1964 – Anna Ryder Richardson, British interior designer and television presenter

• 1965 – Dominik Hašek, Czech ice hockey player

• 1965 – Peter Lundgren, Swedish tennis coach

• 1966 – Romário, Brazilian footballer

• 1967 – Cyril Suk, Czech tennis player

• 1967 – Stacey King, American basketball player

• 1968 – Edward Burns, American actor

• 1968 – Susi Erdmann, German bobsledder and luger

• 1968 – Sora Jung, Korean actress

• 1969 – Hyde, Japanese singer (L'Arc-en-Ciel)

• 1970 – Heather Graham, American actress

• 1970 – Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Indian shooter

• 1970 – Jörg Hoffmann, German swimmer

• 1973 – Jason Schmidt, American baseball player

• 1975 – Sara Gilbert, American actress

• 1976 – Chris Castle, American singer-songwriter

• 1976 – Charles Divins, American model and actor

• 1977 – Justin Hartley, American actor

• 1977 – Chaly Jones, Dutch footballer

• 1978 – Martin Schmitt, German ski jumper

• 1978 – Rob Bironas, American football player

• 1979 – April Scott, American actress and model

• 1979 – Sui Feifei, Chinese basketball player

• 1979 – Andrew Keegan, American actor

• 1979 – Joseph Todd, Arena Football League player

• 1979 – Andreas Thorstensson, Swedish website developer

• 1980 – Yael Bar-Zohar, Israeli actress and model

• 1980 – Ivan Klasnić, Croatian football player

• 1980 – Ingimundur Ingimundarson, Icelandic handball player

• 1981 – Jonny Lang, American musician

• 1981 – Álex Ubago, Spanish musician

• 1981 – Darío Lopilato, Argentine actor

• 1982 – Adam Lambert, American actor and singer

• 1982 – Irina Shabayeva American fashion designer

• 1982 – Heidi Mueller, American actress

• 1983 – Nedžad Sinanović, Bosnian basketball player

• 1985 – Athina Onassis, French heiress

• 1985 – Isabel Lucas, Australian actress

• 1985 – Mikey Hachey, American musician (Suburban Legends)

• 1985 – Marc Gasol, Spanish basketball player

• 1985 – Todd Herzog, American reality-show contestant

• 1986 – Drew Tyler Bell, American actor

• 1986 – Mark Howard, English football player

• 1986 – Jair Jurrjens, Dutch baseball player

• 1986 – Simon Vukčević, Montenegrin footballer

• 1987 – Matthew Wilson, English world rally driver

• 1988 – Stephanie Gilmore, Australian surfer

• 1991 – Hugh Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor, son of the Duke of Westminster

• 1993 – Michelle Larcher de Brito, Portuguese tennis player

Deaths

• 1119 – Pope Gelasius II

• 1240 – Pelagio Galvani, Cardinal-Bishop of Albano (b. c. 1165)

• 1342 – Louis I, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1279)

• 1597 – Elias Ammerbach, German organist (b. 1530)

• 1608 – Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1557)

• 1647 – Francis Meres, English writer (b. 1565)

• 1676 – Tsar Alexis I of Russia (b. 1629)

• 1678 – Jeronimo Lobo, Portuguese Jesuit missionary (b. 1593)

• 1696 – Ivan V, Russian tsar (b. 1666)

• 1706 – Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet and courtier (b. 1638)

• 1737 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, British soldier (b. 1666)

• 1743 – André-Hercule de Fleury, French statesman (b. 1653)

• 1763 – Louis Racine, French poet (b. 1692)

• 1820 – King George III of the United Kingdom (b. 1738)

• 1829 – Paul François Jean Nicolas Barras, French politician (b. 1755)

• 1870 – Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1797)

• 1871 – Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé, French Canadian writer (b. 1786)

• 1899 – Alfred Sisley, British impressionist painter (b. 1839)

• 1901 – King Milan I of Serbia (b. 1855)

• 1906 – King Christian IX of Denmark (b. 1818)

• 1918 – Aleksei Maksimovich Kaledin, Russian-counter revolutionary (b. 1861)

• 1928 – Douglas Haig, British soldier (b. 1861)

• 1933 – Sara Teasdale, American poet (b. 1884)

• 1934 – Fritz Haber, German chemist, Nobel Laureate (b. 1868)

• 1941 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and dictator (b. 1871)

• 1946 – Harry Hopkins, 8th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1890)

• 1948 – Tomislav II of Croatia, 4th Duke of Aosta, Italian aristocrat (b. 1900)

• 1950 – Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1885)

• 1951 – Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer (b. 1880)

• 1956 – H. L. Mencken, American journalist (b. 1880)

• 1961 – John F. O'Ryan, American major general (b. 1874)

• 1962 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian violinist (b. 1875)

• 1963 – Robert Frost, American poet (b. 1874)

• 1964 – Alan Ladd, American actor (b. 1913)

• 1966 – Pierre Mercure, French Canadian composer (b. 1927)

• 1969 – Allen Dulles, American CIA director (b. 1893)

• 1970 – B. H. Liddell Hart, British historian (b. 1895)

• 1975 – Orestis Makris, Greek actor (b. 1898)

• 1977 – Buster Nupen, South African cricketer (b. 1902)

• 1977 – Freddie Prinze, American actor and comedian (b. 1954)

• 1980 – Jimmy Durante, American actor and comedian (b. 1893)

• 1986 – Leif Erickson, American actor (b. 1911)

• 1989 – Halina Konopacka, Polish athlete (b. 1900)

• 1991 – Yasushi Inoue, Japanese historian (b. 1907)

• 1992 – Willie Dixon, American composer and musician (b. 1915)

• 1993 – Ron Kostelnik, American football player (b. 1940)

• 1994 – Ulrike Maier, Austrian alpine skier (b. 1967)

• 1998 – Joseph Alioto, American politician (b. 1916)

• 1999 – Lili St. Cyr, American dancer (b. 1918)

• 2002 – Dick "Night Train" Lane, American football player (b. 1928)

• 2002 – Harold Russell, Canadian-born American actor (b. 1914)

• 2003 – Frank Moss, American politician (b. 1911)

• 2004 – M. M. Kaye, British writer (b. 1908)

• 2004 – Janet Frame, New Zealand writer (b. 1924)

• 2005 – Eric Griffiths, Welsh guitarist (The Quarrymen) (b. 1940)

• 2005 – Ephraim Kishon, Israeli satirist (b. 1924)

• 2007 – Barbaro, American thoroughbred racehorse (b. 2003)

• 2007 – Dia Abdul Zahra Kadim, Iraqi extremist leader (b. 1970)

• 2008 – Raymond Jacobs, American soldier (b. 1925)

• 2008 – Philippe Khorsand, French actor (b. 1948)

• 2008 – Margaret Truman, American writer, daughter of Harry S. Truman (1924)

• 2009 – Hélio Gracie, Brazilian martial artist (b. 1913)

• 2009 – John Martyn, Scottish singer and songwriter (b. 1948)

• 2009 – Bill Frindall, English cricket scorer and statistician (b. 1939)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day

• *Juniper

• *Valerius of Trèves

• *January 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Constitution Day (Gibraltar)