January 24



Events

Up to 1900 
 41 – Roman Emperor Gaius Caesar (Caligula), known for his eccentricity and cruel despotism, was assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards.
 1438 – Pope Eugenius IV was suspended by the Council of Basel.
 1458 – Matthias I Corvinus becomes king of Hungary.
 1521 - Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Puka-Puka Islands in the Tuamotu Archipelago, Polynesia, South Pacific Ocean.
 1624 – Alfonso Mendez, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Prelate of Ethiopia, arrives at Massawa from Goa.
 1679 – King Charles II of England disbands Parliament.
 1742 – Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
 1758 - Seven Years' War: The leading burghers of Konigsberg (now Kaliningrad) submit to Elizabeth of Russia, forming Russian Prussia (until 1763).
 1772 - France takes control of the Crozet Islands in the Indian Ocean.
 1817 - Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of Juan Gregorio de las Heras are captured in the Action Pichenta.
 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 founded.
 1862 - Bucharest becomes the capital city of Romania.
 1888 – Jacob L. Wortman patents the typewriter ribbon.

1901  2000 
 1908 – Robert Baden-Powell begins the Boy Scout movement.
 1916 – In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad, the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.
 1918 – A decree of the Council of People's Commissars, introducing the Gregorian calendar in Russia from February 1, issued
 1922 – Christian K. Nelson patents the Eskimo Pie.
 1924 – St. Petersburg, Russia is renamed Leningrad.
 1927 – Young director Alfred Hitchcock releases his first movie, The Pleasure Garden, in England.
 1936 – Albert Sarraut becomes Prime Minister of France.
 1939 - Chillan, in Chile, is hit by a deadly earthquake.
 1942 - World War II: The Allies bomb Bangkok, leading to Thailand declaring war on the United Kingdom and United States.
 1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.
 1945 – Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland is liberated by Soviet troops.
 1946 - The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.
 1947 - Dimitrios Maximos becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
 1952 – Vincent Massey sworn in as first Canada-born Governor-General of Canada.
 1960 - Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as "barricades week", during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.
 1961 - A bomber carrying two hydrogen bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina.
 1962 – Brian Epstein signs to manage The Beatles.
 1962 - 28 people manage to escape from East Berlin to West Berlin through a tunnel.
 1966 – An Air India Boeing 707 jet crashes on Mont Blanc, on the border between France and Italy, killing 117
 1972 – Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese soldier, is discovered on Guam, where he was hiding in a cave since 1944.
 1976 - An earthquake kills 3,850 people in Turkey.
 1977 - Massacre of Atochi in Madrid.
 1978 - Soviet satellite Cosmos 954, with nuclear weapons on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories.
 1982 – Super Bowl XVI: San Francisco 49ers defeat the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-21 in the first Super Bowl played north of the Mason–Dixon line
 1984 – The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale.
 1986 – Voyager 2 passes within 50,679 miles of Uranus.
 1987 – In Lebanon, gunmen kidnap Alann Steen, Jesse Turner, Robert Polhill and Mitheleshwar Singh.
 1989 – Serial killer Ted Bundy is executed in Florida's electric chair.
 1990 - Japan launches Hiten, its first lunar probe.
 1993 - Turkish journalist and writer Ugur Mumcu is killed by a car bomb in Ankara.
 1995 – The prosecution delivers its opening statement in the O. J. Simpson murder trial.
 1996 – Polish Premier Jozef Oleksy resigns amid charges he spied for Moscow.

From 2001 
 2001 – The last two of the Texas 7 are taken into custody in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
 2002 – Enron congressional hearings begin.
 2002 – Terrorist suspect John Walker Lindh's hearing begins.
 2002 – The United States Department of Justice indicts Robert Nicholas Angleton for conspiring to murder his wife, Doris Angleton, along with his brother Roger.
 2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
 2009 - The storm Klaus makes landfall in Bordeaux, France, on the way to causing large destruction and 26 deaths.
 2011 - A bombing at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow kills 35 people.
 2015 - An attack by Russian-backed rebels in Mariupol, Eastern Ukraine, kills at least 20 people.
 2018 - Scientists in the People's Republic of China report in the journal "Cell" that the first monkey clones have been created.

Births

Up to 1900 
 76 – Hadrian, Roman Emperor (d. 138)
 1444 – Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1476)
 1540 - Edmund Campion, English priest and martyr (d. 1581)
 1679 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher (d. 1754)
 1705 - Farinelli, Italian singer (d. 1782)
 1712 – Frederick II of Prussia (d. 1786)
 1724 - Frances Brooke, English writer (d. 1789)
 1732 - Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, French playwright (d. 1799)
 1742 - Anne, Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn (d. 1808)
 1746 – King Gustav III of Sweden (d. 1792)
 1749 – Charles James Fox, British politician (d. 1806)
 1752 - Muzio Clementi, Italian composer (d. 1832)
 1776 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German writer (d. 1822)
 1778 - Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, French Prince (d. 1820)
 1779 - Tsarina Elizabeth Alexeievna of Russia (d. 1826)
 1792 - Friedrich Wilhelm, Count Brandenburg, Prussian statesman (d. 1850)
 1816 - Coles Bashford, Governor of Wisconsin (d. 1878)
 1828 – Ferdinand Cohn, German botanist and microbiologist (d. 1898)
 1848 - Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (d. 1916)
 1850 – Hermann Ebbinghaus, German psychologist (d. 1909)
 1862 – Edith Wharton, American writer (d. 1937)
 1864 – Marguerite Durand, French Women's rights activist (d. 1936)
 1866 - Jaan Poskal, Estonian lawyer, diplomat and politician (d. 1920)
 1872 – Konstantin Bogaevsky, Russian painter (d. 1943)
 1872 - Ethel Turner, Australian writer (d. 1958)
 1872 - Morris William Travers, English chemist (d. 1961)
 1886 - Henry King, American movie director (d. 1982)
 1888 – Ernst Heinkel, German aircraft designer (d. 1958)
 1888 - Vicki Baum, Austrian writer (d. 1960)
 1891 - Walter Model, German field marshal (d. 1945)
 1895 – Eugen Roth, German writer (d. 1976)
 1900 - Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ukrainian-born American geneticist and biologist (d. 1975)

1901  1950 
 1901 – A. M. Cassandre, Ukrainian-born French artist (d. 1968)
 1901 - Mikhail Romm, Soviet-Russian film director (d. 1971)
 1907 - Maurice Couve de Murville, Prime Minister of France (d. 1999)
 1910 – Doris Haddock (Granny D), American political activist (d. 2010)
 1913 - Norman Dello Joio, American composer (d. 2008)
 1915 - Robert Motherwell, American painter (d. 1991)
 1916 - Arnoldo Foa, Italian actor and director (d. 2014)
 1916 – Rafael Caldera, President of Venezuela (d. 2009)
 1916 - Gene Mako, Hungarian-American tennis player (d. 2013)
 1917 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (d. 2012)
 1918 – Oral Roberts, American evangelist (d. 2009)
 1920 - Jerry Maren, American actor
 1922 - Daniel Boulanger, French actor and screenwriter (d. 2014)
 1925 - Gus Mortson, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2015)
 1925 - Maria Tallchief, American ballerina (d. 2013)
 1926 – Georges Lautner, French movie director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
 1928 – Desmond Morris, British zoologist, publicist and artist
 1928 - Michel Serrault, French actor (d. 2007)
 1931 - Lars Hörmander, Swedish mathematician (d. 2012)
 1935 - Bamber Gascoigne, British actor and broadcaster
 1940 – Joachim Gauck, German pastor, activist, publicist and former President of Germany
 1941 – Neil Diamond, American singer and songwriter
 1941 – Dan Shechtman, Israeli scientist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
 1941 - Aaron Neville, American musician
 1942 - Gary Hart, American wrestler and manager (d. 2008)
 1943 - Subhash Ghai, Indian director, screenwriter and politician
 1943 – Peter Struck, German politician (d. 2012)
 1943 – Sharon Tate, American actress (d. 1969)
 1944 – Klaus Nomi, German singer (d. 1983)
 1945 - John Garamendi, American politician
 1947 - Masashi Ozaki, Japanese golfer
 1947 – Michio Kaku, American theoretical physicist
 1947 - Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian footballer (d. 2012)
 1948 – Michael Des Barres, British actor and singer
 1949 – John Belushi, American actor (d. 1982)
 1950 - Gennifer Flowers, American actress

1951  1975 
 1951 - Mike Thompson, American politician
 1952 - Raymond Domenech, French football coach
 1953 - Moon Jae-in, South Korean lawyer and President of South Korea
 1953 - Matthew Wilder, American singer-songwriter
 1955 - Jim Montgomery, American swimmer
 1957 - Mark Eaton, American basketball player
 1957 – Adrian Edmondson, English comedian
 1958 – Jools Holland, English pianist, bandleader and television presenter
 1959 – Vic Reeves, English comedian
 1959 - Michel Preud'Homme, Belgian footballer
 1961 – Guido Buchwald, German footballer
 1961 – Natassja Kinski, German-born actress
 1965 - Andreu Buenafuerte, Spanish humorist
 1966 - Shaun Donovan, American politician
 1966 - Julie Dreyfus, French actress
 1968 - Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
 1971 - Cory Bailey, American baseball player

From 1976 
 1976 - Shae-Lynn Bourne, Canadian ice dancer
 1976 - Cindy Pieters, Belgian cyclist
 1977 – Kensuke Kita, Japanese guitarist
 1977 - Michelle Hunziker, Swiss television presenter, singer and model
 1978 - Kristen Schaal, American actress
 1979 – Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer
 1979 - Nik Wallenda, American acrobat and daredevil
 1979 - Leandro Desabato, Argentine footballer
 1980 - Rebecca Romero, English track cyclist and rower
 1980 - Nicole Marie Lenz, American actress
 1981 – Michael Wolf, German ice hockey player
 1981 - Travis Hanson, American baseball player
 1982 - Claudia Heill, Austrian judoka (d. 2011)
 1983 – Shaun Maloney, Scottish footballer
 1983 – Scott Speed, American racing driver
 1983 - Diane Birch, American singer-songwriter and pianist
 1983 - Davide Blondini, Italian footballer
 1984 - Scott Kazmir, American baseball player
 1984 - Wietold Kieltyka, Polish drummer (d. 2007)
 1986 – Mischa Barton, English-born actress
 1986 - Michael Kightly, English footballer
 1987 - Wayne Hennessey, Welsh footballer
 1987 – Luis Suarez, Uruguayan footballer
 1988 - DaJuan Summers, American basketball player
 1988 – Jade Ewen, English singer
 1989 – Ki Sung-Yueng, South Korean footballer
 1989 - Samba Diakité, Malian footballer
 1989 - Calvin Goldspink, English actor and singer
 1989 - Gong Lijiao, Chinese shot putter
 1990 - Mao Abe, Japanese singer-songwriter
 1992 - Becky Downie, British gymnast
 1993 - Tanja Frank, Austrian sailor
 1995 - Callan McAuliffe, Australian actor
 1997 - Dylan Riley Snyder, American actor, singer and dancer
 2012 - Princess Athena of Denmark

Deaths

Up to 1900 
 41 – Caligula, Roman Emperor (b. 12)
 772 – Pope Stephen III (b. 721)
 817 - Pope Stephen IV (b. 770)
 863 - Charles of Provence (b. 845)
 1002 – Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 980)
 1125 – King David IV of Georgia (b. 1073)
 1349 - Luchino Visconti, Regent of Milan (b. 1287)
 1366 – Alfonso IV of Aragon (b. 1299)
 1595 – Ferdinand II of Austria (b. 1529)
 1813 - Theodore Sedgwick, American politician (b. 1746)
 1861 - Robert P. Letcher, American politician, Governor of Kentucky (b. 1788)
 1877 – Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist (b. 1796)
 1879 - Heinrich Geissler, inventor (b. 1815)
 1882 - Levi Boone, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1808)
 1895 – Lord Randolph Churchill, British politician (b. 1849)

1901  2000 
 1911 - David Graham Phillips, American journalist and novelist (b. 1867)
 1918 - George Arthur Crump, American architect (b. 1871)
 1919 - Ismail Qemali, 1st Prime Minister of Albania (b. 1844)
 1920 – Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1884)
 1924 – Marie-Adelaide, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (b. 1894)
 1924 - Anna Bayerova, Czech physician (b. 1853)
 1930 - Rebecca Latimer Felton, American politician (b. 1835)
 1937 - Andrew J. Montague, Governor of Virginia (b. 1862)
 1939 - Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician (b. 1867)
 1948 - Maria Mandl, Austrian concentration camp overseer and convicted Nazi war criminal (b. 1912)
 1955 - Henry Potter, American golfer (b. 1881)
 1955 - Ira Hayes, American marine (b. 1923)
 1960 - Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (b. 1886)
 1961 - Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American pole vaulter and inventor (b. 1884)
 1962 - Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar, Turkish writer (b. 1901)
 1965 – Winston Churchill, British statesman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1874)
 1969 - King Saud of Saudi Arabia (b. 1902)
 1971 - Bill W., American activist, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (b. 1895) 
 1980 – Lil Dagover, Dutch-German actress (b. 1887)
 1982 - Alfredo Ovando Candia, 56th President of Bolivia (b. 1918)
 1986 - Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (b. 1921)
 1986 – L. Ron Hubbard, American writer and founder of Scientology (b. 1911)
 1988 - Werner Fenchel, German mathematician (b. 1905)
 1989 – Ted Bundy, American serial killer (b. 1946)
 1992 - Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (b. 1909)
 1993 – Thurgood Marshall, United States Supreme Court Justice (b. 1908)
 1993 – Ugur Mumcu, Turkish journalist and writer (b. 1942)

From 2001 
 2003 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman and auto executive (b. 1921)
 2004 – Leonidas da Silva, Brazilian footballer (b. 1913)
 2006 - Chris Penn, American actor (b. 1965)
 2007 – Emiliano Mercado del Toro, Puerto Rican supercentenarian (b. 1891)
 2009 – Kay Yow, American basketball coach (b. 1942)
 2011 – Bhimsen Joshi, Indian musician (b. 1922)
 2011 – Bernd Eichinger, German movie director and producer (b. 1949)
 2012 – Theodoros Angelopoulos, Greek movie director and screenwriter (b. 1935)
 2012 – James Farentino, American actor (b. 1938)
 2012 - J. Joseph Garrahy, Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1930)
 2014 - Shulamit Aloni, Israeli politician (b. 1928)
 2015 - Otto Carius, German World War II tank commander (b. 1922)
 2015 - Johan Ferner, Norwegian sailor (b. 1927)
 2015 - Toller Cranston, Canadian figure skater (b. 1949)
 2015 - Link Byfield, Canadian conservative columnist, politician and publisher (b. 1951)
 2015 - Joe Franklin, American television and radio host (b. 1926)
 2015 - Julio Canessa, Chilean diplomat and general (b. 1925)
 2015 - Frances Lennon, British artist (b. 1912)
 2016 - Jimmy Bain, Scottish musician (b. 1947)
 2016 - Fredrik Barth, Norwegian social anthropologist (b. 1928)
 2016 - Forouzan, Iranian actress (b. 1937)
 2016 - Marvin Minsky, American scientist (b. 1927)
 2016 - Henry Worsley, English adventurer (b. 1960)
 2017 - Fred André, Dutch footballer (b. 1941)
 2017 - Chuck Canfield, American businessman and politician (b. 1932)
 2017 - Carlos Verdejo, Chilean footballer (b. 1934)
 2017 - Chuck Weyant, American racing driver (b. 1923)
 2017 - Butch Trucks, American drummer (b. 1947)
 2017 - Robert Folsom, American politician (b. 1927)
 2017 - Gil Ray, American drummer (b. 1956)
 2018 - Marcos Carvajal, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1984)
 2018 - Gonzalo Facio Segreda, Costa Rican politician (b. 1918)
 2018 - Renaud Gagneux, French composer (b. 1947)
 2018 - Jack Ketchum, American novelist and screenwriter (b. 1946)
 2018 - Mark E. Smith, English singer-songwriter (b. 1957)

Observances 
 Feast Day of Our Lady of Peace (Roman Catholicism)
 Unification Day (Romania)

Days of the year