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Contents

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

Religious holidays

References

External links

Events

★ 27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate.

★ 550 - Gothic War (535–552): The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison.

★ 929 - Emir Abd-ar-Rahman III of Cordoba declares himself caliph, thereby establishing the Caliphate of Cordoba.

★ 1362 - A great storm tide in the North Sea destroys the German island of Strand and the city of Rungholt.

★ 1412 - The Medici family are made official bankers of the Papacy.

★ 1456 - Painter Filippo Lippi elopes with Lucrezia Buti, a young nun from the convent of Saint Margherita.

★ 1492 - The first grammar of a modern language, in Spanish, is presented to Queen Isabella.

★ 1547 - Ivan the Terrible becomes Tsar of Russia.

★ 1556 - Philip II becomes King of Spain.

★ 1572 - The Duke of Norfolk is tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England.

★ 1581 - English Parliament outlaws Roman Catholicism.

★ 1605 - The first edition of ''El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha'' (Book One of ''Don Quixote'') by Miguel de Cervantes was published in Madrid.

★ 1707 - The Scottish Parliament ratified the Act of Union, paving way for the creation of Great Britain.

★ 1761 - British capture Pondicherry, India from the French.

★ 1777 - Vermont declares its independence from New York.

★ 1780 - American Revolution: Battle of Cape St. Vincent.

★ 1795 - French occupy Utrecht, Netherlands.

★ 1809 - Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of La Coruña.

★ 1847 - John C. Fremont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory.

★ 1864 - Danish-Prussian War (Second war of Schleswig): King Christian IX of Denmark declares war to the German Confederation in order to occupy Schleswig

★ 1878 - Captain Burago with a squadron of Russian Imperial army dragoons liberates Plovdiv from the Ottoman rule.

★ 1883 - The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil Service, is passed.

★ 1896 - Defeat of Cymru Fydd at South Wales Liberal Federation AGM, Newport, Monmouthshire.

★ 1900 - The United States Senate accepts the Anglo-German treaty of 1899 in which the United Kingdom renounces its claims to the Samoan islands.

★ 1909 - Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole.

★ 1919 - Temperance movement: The United States of America ratifies the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, authorizing Prohibition in the United States one year after ratification.

★ 1920 - Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. was founded on the campus of Howard University.

★ 1945 - Adolf Hitler moves into his underground bunker, the so-called Führerbunker.

★ 1956 - President Gamal Abdal Nasser of Egypt vows to reconquer Palestine.

★ 1968 - Youth International Party (Yippies) is founded.

★ 1969 - Czech student Jan Palach commits suicide by self-immolation in Prague, in protest against the Soviets' crushing of the Prague Spring the year before.

★ 1969 - Metroliner train starts running.

★ 1970 - Buckminster Fuller receives the Gold Medal award from the American Institute of Architects.

★ 1979 - The Shah of Iran flees Iran with his family and relocates to Egypt.

★ 1986 - First meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force.

★ 1991 - The United States of America declares war on Iraq, beginning the Persian Gulf War (U.S.Time).

★ 1992 - El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City that ends a 12-year civil war that claimed at least 75,000.

★ 2001 - Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is assassinated by one of his own bodyguards.

★ 2001 - US President Bill Clinton awards former US President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service in the Spanish-American War.

★ 2002 - The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and the remaining members of the Taliban.

★ 2003 - Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' takes off for mission STS-107 which will be its final one. ''Columbia'' disintegrates 16 days later on re-entry.

★ 2005 - Adriana Iliescu gives birth at age 66 and becomes the oldest woman in the world to do so.

★ 2006 - Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia's new president. She becomes Africa's first female elected head of state.

Births

★ 1245 - Edmund Crouchback, son of Henry III of England (d. 1296)

★ 1409 - René I of Naples (d. 1480)

★ 1477 - Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (d. 1547)

★ 1501 - Anthony Denny, confidant of King Henry VIII of England (d. 1559)

★ 1616 - François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort, French soldier (d. 1669)

★ 1626 - Lucas Achtschellinck, Flemish painter (d. 1699)

★ 1634 - Dorthe Engelbrechtsdatter, Norwegian poet (d. 1716)

★ 1675 - Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French writer (d. 1755)

★ 1728 - Niccola Piccinni, Italian composer (d. 1800)

★ 1815 - Henry W. Halleck, American Civil War general (d. 1872)

★ 1821 - John C. Breckenridge, Confederate general (d. 1875)

★ 1834 - Robert R. Hitt, American politician (d. 1906)

★ 1838 - Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (d. 1917)

★ 1853 - Andre Michelin, French industrialist (d. 1931)

★ 1874 - Robert W. Service, Canadian poet (d. 1958)

★ 1875 - Leonor Michaelis, German enzyme kinetic theorist (d. 1947)

★ 1885 - Zhou Zuoren, Chinese writer (d. 1967)

★ 1886 - John Hamilton, American actor (d. 1958)

★ 1888 - Osip Brik, Russian writer (d. 1945)

★ 1897 - Carlos Pellicer, Mexican poet (d. 1977)

★ 1898 - Margaret Booth, American film editor (d. 2002)

★ 1901 - Fulgencio Batista, Cuban leader (d. 1973)

★ 1901 - Frank Zamboni, American inventor (d. 1988)

★ 1902 - Eric Liddell, Scottish runner (d. 1945)

★ 1903 - William Grover-Williams, British racing driver (d. 1945)

★ 1906 - Diana Wynyard, British actress (d. 1964)

★ 1907 - Paul Nitze, American government official (d. 2004)

★ 1908 - Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (d. 1984)

★ 1910 - Dizzy Dean, American baseball player (d. 1974)

★ 1911 - Roger Lapébie, French cyclist (d. 1996)

★ 1911 - Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean politician (d.1982)

★ 1918 - Nel Benschop, Dutch poet (d. 2005)

★ 1918 - Stirling Silliphant, American writer (d. 1996)

★ 1920 - Alberto Crespo, Argentine racing driver (d. 1991)

★ 1921 - Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (d. 2004)

★ 1922 - Ernesto Bonino, Italian singer

★ 1923 - Anthony Hecht, American poet (d. 2004)

★ 1924 - Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (d. 2002)

★ 1928 - William Kennedy, American author

★ 1930 - Clarence Ray Allen, American murderer (d. 2006)

★ 1931 - Johannes Rau, German politician (d. 2006)

★ 1932 - Dian Fossey, American zoologist (d. 1985)

★ 1933 - Susan Sontag, American writer (d. 2004)

★ 1934 - Marilyn Horne, American opera singer

★ 1935 - A.J. Foyt, American race car driver

★ 1937 - Luiz Bueno, Brazilian racing driver

★ 1942 - René Angélil, Canadian music executive

★ 1942 - Barbara Lynn, American singer

★ 1943 - Brian Ferneyhough, British composer

★ 1943 - Ronnie Milsap, American singer and songwriter

★ 1944 - Jim Stafford, American singer and songwriter

★ 1946 - Kabir Bedi, Indian actor

★ 1946 - Katia Ricciarelli, Italian soprano

★ 1947 - Laura Schlessinger, American radio talk show host

★ 1947 - Harvey Proctor, British politician

★ 1948 - John Carpenter, American film director

★ 1948 - Dalvanius Prime, New Zealand entertainer (d. 2002)

★ 1948 - Cliff Thorburn, Canadian snooker player

★ 1948 - Ruth Reichl, American magazine editor

★ 1950 - Debbie Allen, American dancer and choreographer

★ 1951 - Glenn Ordway, American radio talk show host

★ 1952 - King Fuad II of Egypt

★ 1953 - Robert Jay Mathews, American neo-Nazi (d. 1984)

★ 1956 - Martin Jol, Dutch football manager

★ 1956 - Ivan Safronov, Russian journalist (d. 2007)

★ 1958 - Anatoli Boukreev, Russian climber (d. 1997)

★ 1958 - Lena Ek, Swedish politician

★ 1959 - Sade, Nigerian-born singer

★ 1961 - Jill Sobule, American singer-songwriter

★ 1962 - Paul Webb, British musician (Talk Talk)

★ 1963 - James May, English television presenter

★ 1966 - Maxine Jones, American singer (En Vogue)

★ 1969 - Roy Jones Jr., Professional Boxer

★ 1969 - Per Yngve Ohlin, Swedish singer (d. 1991)

★ 1970 - Ron Villone, American baseball player

★ 1970 - Garth Ennis, Irish comic book author

★ 1973 - Josie Davis, American actress

★ 1974 - Kate Moss, English model

★ 1974 - Marlon Anderson, American baseball player

★ 1975 - Gillian Iliana Waters, African-American actress

★ 1975 - Greg Strause, American visual effects creator

★ 1976 - Viktor Maslov, Russian racing driver

★ 1976 - Martina Moravcová, Slovak female swimmer

★ 1977 - Jeff Foster, American basketball player

★ 1979 - Aaliyah, American singer (d. 2001)

★ 1979 - Brenden Morrow, Canadian ice hockey player

★ 1979 - Jason Ward, Canadian ice hockey player

★ 1980 - Albert Pujols, Dominican-born baseball player

★ 1980 - Michelle Wild, Hungarian model

★ 1980 - Dan Brickley, American television personality

★ 1981 - Bobby Zamora, English footballer

★ 1981 - Nick Valensi, American guitarist (The Strokes)

★ 1982 - Samuel Preston, British singer (The Ordinary Boys)

★ 1982 - Tuncay Şanlı, Turkish footballer

★ 1983 - Emanuel Pogatetz, Austrian footballer

★ 1988 - Nicklas Bendtner, Danish footballer

Deaths

★ 1400 - John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, English politician (executed) (b. 1352)

★ 1545 - George Spalatin, German reformer (b. 1484)

★ 1547 - Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (b. 1477)

★ 1554 - Christiern Pedersen, Danish humanist (b. 1480)

★ 1585 - Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln, English admiral (b. 1512)

★ 1659 - Charles Annibal Fabrot, French lawyer (b. 1580)

★ 1710 - Emperor Higashiyama of Japan (b. 1675)

★ 1711 - Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Ceylon (b. 1651)

★ 1747 - Barthold Heinrich Brockes, German poet (b. 1680)

★ 1748 - Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch classical scholar (b. 1684)

★ 1750 - Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshall (b. 1667)

★ 1752 - Francis Blomefield, English topographer (b. 1705)

★ 1794 - Edward Gibbon, English historian (b. 1737)

★ 1809 - John Moore, British general (b. 1761)

★ 1815 - Emma, Lady Hamilton, English mistress of Horatio Nelson (b. 1765)

★ 1817 - Alexander J. Dallas, American statesman (b. 1759)

★ 1834 - Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician (b. 1769)

★ 1856 - Thaddeus William Harris, American naturalist (b. 1795)

★ 1865 - Edmond François Valentin About, French writer (b. 1828)

★ 1879 - Octave Crémazie, French Canadian poet (b. 1827)

★ 1891 - Léo Delibes, French composer (b. 1836)

★ 1898 - Charles Pelham Villiers, longest-serving MP in the British House of Commons (b. 1802)

★ 1917 - George Dewey, U.S. admiral (b. 1837)

★ 1919 - Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, President of Brazil (b. 1848)

★ 1924 - Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald, philanthropist (b. 1859)

★ 1936 - Albert Fish, American serial killer (b. 1870)

★ 1942 - Carole Lombard, American actress (b. 1908)

★ 1957 - Arturo Toscanini, Italian conductor (b. 1867)

★ 1962 - Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor (b. 1883)

★ 1963 - Ike Quebec, American tenor-saxophone player (b. 1918)

★ 1967 - Robert J. Van de Graaff, American nuclear physicist (b. 1901)

★ 1969 - Vernon Duke, American composer and songwriter (b. 1903)

★ 1969 - Jan Palach, Czech freedom fighter (b. 1948)

★ 1971 - Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (b. 1890)

★ 1972 - Ross Bagdasarian, American actor and creator of The Chipmunks (b. 1919)

★ 1979 - Ted Cassidy, American actor (b. 1932)

★ 1979 - August Heissmeyer, German SS officer (b. 1897)

★ 1981 - Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908)

★ 1982 - Red Smith, American sports columnist (b. 1905)Dave McLorie - Guitarist for What Becomes & For The Verdict born

★ 1986 - Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author, and publisher (b. 1892)

★ 1988 - Andrija Artuković, Croatian war criminal (b. 1899)

★ 1988 - Ballard Berkeley, English actor (b. 1904)

★ 1993 - Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Icelandic strength athlete (b. 1960)

★ 1995 - Eric Mottram, English poet, teacher, critic, and editor (b. 1924)

★ 1997 - Ennis Cosby, son of entertainer Bill Cosby (murdered) (b. 1969)

★ 1998 - Dimitris Horn, Greek actor (b. 1921)

★ 2000 - John Rankin, musical entertainer (b. 1959)

★ 2001 - Laurent-Désiré Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1939)

★ 2002 - Michael Bilandic, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)

★ 2002 - Eddie Meduza, Swedish composer (b. 1948)

★ 2002 - Bobo Olson, American boxer (b. 1928)

★ 2002 - Ron Taylor, American actor (b. 1952)

★ 2003 - Richard Wainwright, English politician (b. 1918)

★ 2004 - Kalevi Sorsa, Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1930)

★ 2005 - Marjorie Williams, American journalist (b. 1958)

★ 2007 - Ron Carey, American actor (b. 1935)

★ 2007 - Benny Parsons, American Racecar driver & Commentator (b. 1941)

Holidays and observances

★ Teacher's Day in Thailand

★ National Religious Freedom Day in the United States, to commemorate the adoption of Thomas Jefferson's landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786

Religious holidays

★ Berard of Carbio^[1]

★ Saint Fursey

★ Honoratus of Arles

★ January 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

References

1. Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. ''The Penguin Dictionary of Saints''. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-140-51312-4.

External links

★ BBC: On This Day

★

★ On this day in Canada
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