Events

Up to 1900 
 98 – Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva.
 447 - Constantinople is hit by a strong earthquake.
 672 – St. Vitalian ends his reign as Catholic Pope.
 847 – Sergius II ends his reign as Catholic Pope.
 1186 – Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, weds Constance of Sicily.
 1343 – Pope Clement VI issues the Bull Unigenitus.
 1593 – Vatican opens 7-year trial against scholar Giordano Bruno.
 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins. It ends in their execution on January 31.
 1695 – Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan in Istanbul on the death of Ahmed II. Mustafa rules until his death in 1703.
 1776 - American Revolutionary War: Henry Knox's "Noble Train of Artillery" arrives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
 1785 – The University of Georgia is founded.
 1825 – U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the "Trail of Tears."
 1865 - Spain and Peru end the Spanish-South American War.
 1870 – The first college sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, is formed at DePauw University.
 1880 – Thomas Edison files a patent for his electric incandescent lamp.
 1888 – In Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Society is founded.
 1900 – Boxer Rebellion: Foreign diplomats in Peking, China demand that the Boxer rebels be disciplined.

1901  2000 
 1909 – The Young Left is founded in Norway.
 1915 – United States Marines occupy Haiti.
 1918 - Finland: The Finnish Civil War begins.
 1926 – John Logie Baird demonstrates the first television broadcast.
 1927 - Ibn Saud takes the title of King of Nejd. It later unites with Hejaz to form Saudi Arabia.
 1939 – United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt approves the sale of United States war planes to France.
 1941 – World War II: Fighting at Derna, Libya, begins. Following the capture of Tobruk, two brigades of the 6th Australian Division under Major General Iven Mackay pursue the Italians westwards and encounters an Italian rear guard at Derna.
 1943 – World War II: Fifty bombers mount the first entirely American air raid against Germany, targeting Wilhelmshaven.
 1944 – World War II: The two-year Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
 1945 – World War II: The Red Army arrives at Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland. They find the Nazi concentration camp where 1.1-1.5 million people had been murdered.
 1951 – Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with a one-kiloton bomb dropped on Frenchman Flats.
 1961 - Soviet submarine S-80 sinks with all lives lost.
 1967 – Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of the Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center.
 1967 – More than sixty nations sign the Outer Space Treaty banning nuclear weapons in space.
 1973 – Paris Peace Accords officially end the Vietnam War.
 1974 - Brisbane River breaches its banks causing Brisbane's largest flood of the 20th century.
 1980 - Robert Mugabe returns to Zimbabwe (then-called Rhodesia) after a five-year exile.
 1983 – World's longest underwater tunnel (53.90 km) opens in Japan connecting the islands of Honshū and Hokkaido.
 1984 – Carl Lewis beats his own indoor world jumping record by 9.25 inches (23.5 centimeters) with a 28-foot, 10¼-inch (8.795-meter) jump.
 1984 – Michael Jackson suffers severe burns to his scalp while filming a Pepsi commercial after a spark ignites his hair on fire due to a pyrotechnical fault. He is rushed to hospital.
 1991 – Muhammad Siyad Barre flees his compound in Mogadishu.
 1991 – Super Bowl XXV: The New York Giants defeat the Buffalo Bills, 20-19.
 1992 – Mike Tyson goes on trial charged with raping a 1991 Miss Black America contestant.
 1993 - American-born sumo wrestler Akebono Taro becomes the first foreign-born wrestler of the sport to be given the title of Yokozuna.
 1996 – Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane, in a military coup.
 1996 – Germany observes its 1st Holocaust Remembrance Day.
 1997 – It is revealed that French museums have nearly 2,000 pieces of art that were stolen by Nazis.
 1998 – American First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton appears on the Today Show calling the attacks against her husband part of a vast right-wing conspiracy.

From 2001 
 2001 – Professors Suzanne and Half Zantop are killed in the Dartmouth Murders.
 2001 – Ten members of the Oklahoma State University men's basketball team and support staff die in a plane crash in Colorado.
 2002 – Several explosions at a military dump in Lagos, Nigeria kill more than 1,000.
 2010 – The 2009 Honduran political crisis ends, as Porfirio Lobo Sosa becomes President.
 2013 - A fire in a nightclub in the city of Santa Maria, Southern Brazil, kills over 230 people.
 2019 - Two bombs explode at a Roman Catholic church service in Jolo, southern Philippines, killing 18 people.

Births

Up to 1900 
 1443 – Albert, Duke of Saxony (d. 1500)
 1546 - Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1608)
 1571 – Abbas I of Persia (d. 1629)
 1585 - Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (d. 1634)
 1662 – Richard Bentley, English classical scholar (d. 1742)
 1687 - Johann Balthasar Neumann, German architect (d. 1753)
 1708 - Anna Petrovna of Russia (d. 1728)
 1741 - Hester Thrale, Welsh author (d. 1821)
 1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer (d. 1791)
 1775 – Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, German philosopher (d. 1854)
 1790 - William Davies Evans, Welsh sailor, chess player and inventor (d. 1872)
 1795 - Eli Whitney Blake, American inventor (d. 1886)
 1805 – Maria Anna of Bavaria, Queen Consort of Saxony (d. 1877)
 1805 – Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria (d. 1872)
 1805 - Samuel Palmer, English artist (d. 1881)
 1814 – Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, French architect (d. 1879)
 1823 - Edouard Lalo, French composer (d. 1892)
 1826 - Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian writer (d. 1889)
 1826 - Richard Taylor, American Confederate general (d. 1879)
 1829 - Isaac Roberts, Welsh astronomer (d. 1904)
 1832 – Lewis Carroll, English writer (d. 1898)
 1836 - Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian writer (d. 1895)
 1841 - Arkhip Kuindzhi, Russian painter (d. 1910)
 1850 - Samuel Gompers, American trade union leader (d. 1924)
 1850 – Edward J. Smith, British captain (d. 1912)
 1859 – Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany (d. 1941)
 1864 - John Walter Gregory, English geologist and explorer (d. 1932)
 1867 - Katherine Mayo, American journalist (d. 1940)
 1871 - Samuel Peploe, Scottish painter (d. 1935)
 1885 – Jerome Kern, American composer (d. 1945)
 1891 – Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian writer and journalist (d. 1967)
 1893 – Soong Ching-ling, Chinese political figure and spouse of Sun Yat-sen (d. 1981)
 1895 - Harry Ruby, American composer and screenwriter (d. 1974)
 1899 - Béla Guttmann, Hungarian footballer (d. 1981)

1901  1950 
 1901 – Willy Fritsch, German actor (d. 1973)
 1901 - Art Rooney, Pittsburgh Steelers founder and owner (d. 1988)
 1902 - Carl Berner, German-American supercentenarian (d. 2013)
 1903 – Sir John Eccles, Australian neuropsychologist (d. 1997)
 1908 - William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist and publisher (d. 1993)
 1910 – Edward Kardelj, Yugoslavian politician (d. 1979)
 1912 – Arne Naess, Norwegian philosopher (d. 2009)
 1918 - Skitch Henderson, American bandleader (d. 2005)
 1918 - Elmore James, American blues musician (d. 1963)
 1919 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., American musician (d. 1972)
 1920 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist (d. 2002)
 1921 - Donna Reed, American actress (d. 1986)
 1924 – Rauf Denktas, 1st President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (d. 2012)
 1924 - Brian Rix, English actor and activist (d. 2016)
 1926 - Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (d. 2004)
 1928 – Hans Modrow, East German Premier
 1930 – Aloysius Ambrozic, Slovenian-Canadian archbishop and cardinal (d. 2011)
 1930 - Bobby Bland, American musician (d. 2013)
 1931 - Mordecai Richler, Canadian writer (d. 2001)
 1933 - Jerry Buss, American businessman and sports team owner (d. 2013)
 1933 – Mohamed Al-Fayed, Egyptian businessman and billionaire
 1934 – Edith Cresson, former Prime Minister of France
 1936 - Barry Barish, American physicist
 1936 – Samuel C. C. Ting, American physicist
 1936 - Troy Donahue, American actor (d. 2001)
 1937 – John Ogdon, British pianist (d. 1989)
 1940 – Petru Lucinschi, 2nd President of Moldova
 1940 – James Cromwell, American actor
 1940 - Reynaldo Rey, American actor, comedian and television personality (d. 2015)
 1941 - Bobby Hutcherson, American composer, vibraphone and marimba player
 1942 - Tasuku Honjo, Japanese immunologist
 1942 – Kate Wolf, American folk singer and musician (d. 1986)
 1942 - Steve Wynn, American real estate businessman and art collector
 1944 – Mairead Maguire, Northern Irish activist
 1944 – Nick Mason, English drummer (Pink Floyd)
 1946 – Nedra Talley, American singer (Ronettes)
 1948 – Mikhail Baryshnikov, Latvian-born dancer and choreographer
 1948 – Valeri Brainin, Russian-German musicologist, poet, educator, composer
 1948 - Jean-Philippe Collard, French pianist
 1949 - Marilyn Musgrave, American politician
 1950 - Alex Norton, Scottish actor
 1950 - Derek Acorah, English spirit medium

1951  1975 
 1951 - Brian Downey, Irish musician
 1952 - Brian Gottfried, American tennis player
 1952 - Klan Slavovici, Croatian musician and politician
 1955 – John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States
 1956 - Mimi Rogers, American actress
 1956 - Sean O'Keefe, 10th Head of NASA
 1957 – Janick Gers, British guitarist (Iron Maiden)
 1957 - Frank Miller, American comic book author and movie director
 1958 - Alan Milburn, British politician
 1958 - Susanna Thompson, American actress
 1961 - Gillian Gilbert, British musician
 1963 - Luigi Ambrosio, Italian mathematician
 1963 - Mark Moraghan, English actor and singer
 1963 - George Monbiot, English writer and activist
 1964 – Bridget Fonda, American actress
 1964 - Jack Haley, American basketball player (d. 2015)
 1965 – Alan Cumming, Scottish actor and movie director
 1965 – Mike Newell, English football manager
 1967 - Dave Manson, Canadian ice hockey player
 1968 – Tricky, English rapper
 1968 – Mike Patton, American singer
 1969 – Patton Oswalt, American actor and comedian
 1969 - Cornelius, Japanese singer, guitarist and producer
 1971 - Patrice Brisebois, Canadian ice hockey player
 1972 - Mirjam Ott, Swiss curler
 1972 – Mark Owen, English singer (Take That)
 1972 – Keith Wood, Irish rugby player
 1972 – Josh Randall, American actor
 1973 - Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarussian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
 1974 - Ole Einar Bjorndalen, Norwegian biathlete
 1974 - Andrei Pavel, Romanian tennis player

From 1976 
 1976 – Ahn Jung-Hwan, South Korean footballer
 1979 – Rosamund Pike, English actress
 1980 – Marat Safin, Russian tennis player and politician
 1980 – Eva Padberg, German model
 1981 - Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player
 1981 – Tony Woodcock, New Zealand rugby player
 1983 - Carlo Colaiacov, Canadian ice hockey player
 1983 - Paulo Colaiacov, Canadian ice hockey player
 1986 – Giorgi Loria, Georgian footballer
 1987 – Lily Donaldson, British model
 1987 - Michael Marrone, Australian footballer
 1987 - Anton Shunin, Russian footballer
 1989 - Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Dutch footballer
 1989 - Daisy Lowe, English model
 1998 - Rebeka Kim, South Korean ice dancer

Deaths

Up to 1900 
 98 – Nerva, Roman Emperor (b. 35)
 457 - Marcian, Byzantine Emperor (b. 392)
 672 - Pope Vitalian
 1490 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shogun (b. 1435)
 1540 - Saint Angela Merici, Italian religious leader and saint (b. 1474)
 1629 – Hieronymus Praetorius, German composer (b. 1560)
 1638 – Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, Spanish novelist
 1651 - Abraham Bloemaert, Dutch painter and printmaker (b. 1566)
 1731 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian maker of musical instruments (b. 1655)
 1740 – Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon, Prime Minister of France (b. 1692)
 1754 - Ludvig Holberg, Danish playwright (b. 1684)
 1814 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher (b. 1761)
 1816 – Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, British admiral (b. 1724)
 1851 – John James Audubon, French-American naturalist, ornithologist, and painter (b. 1785)
 1851 - Cornelius P. Comegys, Governor of Delaware (b. 1780)
 1860 – János Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1860)
 1880 – Edward Middleton Barry, English architect (b. 1830)

1901  2000 
 1901 – Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (b. 1813)
 1910 – Thomas Crapper, English plumber (b. 1836)
 1913 - Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria (b. 1827)
 1919 – Endre Ady, Hungarian poet (b. 1877)
 1922 - Nellie Bly, American journalist and author (b. 1864)
 1940 – Isaac Babel, Ukrainian writer (b. 1894)
 1942 - Kaarel Eenpalu, Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1888)
 1956 – Erich Kleiber, German conductor (b. 1890)
 1965 - Hassan Ali Mansour, Prime Minister of Iran (b. 1923)
 1965 - C. Douglass Buck, American politician, Governor of Delaware (b. 1890)
 1967 – Crew of Apollo 1:
 Roger Chaffee (b. 1935)
 Virgil "Gus" Grissom (b. 1926)
 Edward White (b. 1930)
 1970 – Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (b. 1908)
 1971 – Jacobo Arbenz, President of Guatemala (b. 1913)
 1972 – Mahalia Jackson, American singer (b. 1911)
 1973 - William Nolde, last American combat casualty of the Vietnam War (b. 1929)
 1974 - Georgios Grivas, Cyprus-born general of the Greek Army (b. 1898)
 1975 – Bill Walsh, American producer and writer (b. 1913)
 1983 - Louis de Funes, French actor (b. 1914)
 1986 – Lilli Palmer, German-born actress (b. 1914)
 1988 – Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian writer (b. 1938)
 1989 – Thomas Sopwith, British aviation pioneer (b. 1888)
 1992 – Allan Jones, actor and singer (b. 1908)
 1993 – André the Giant, professional wrestler and actor (b. 1946)
 1994 – Claude Akins, actor (b. 1926)
 1996 – Ralph Yarborough, American politician (b. 1903)

From 2001 
 2001 - Marie Jose of Belgium, last Queen Consort of Italy (b. 1906)
 2003 - Henryk Jablonski, President of Poland (b. 1909)
 2004 – Jack Paar, American television show host (b. 1918)
 2006 – Johannes Rau, President of Germany (b. 1931).
 2007 - Marcheline Bertrand, American actress (b. 1950).
 2008 – Suharto, second President of Indonesia (b. 1921).
 2008 - Gordon B. Hinckley, American religious leader (b. 1910).
 2009 - R. Venkataraman, President of India (b. 1910).
 2009 - Mino Reitano, Italian singer (b. 1944).
 2009 – John Updike, American writer (b. 1932).
 2010 – Zelda Rubinstein, American actress (b. 1932).
 2010 – J. D. Salinger, American writer (b. 1919).
 2010 – Howard Zinn, American historian (b. 1922).
 2011 - Charlie Callas, American comedian (b. 1927)
 2013 - Pham Duy, Vietnamese singer-songwriter (b. 1921)
 2014 - Pete Seeger, American folk musician (b. 1919)
 2014 - Edmond Classen, Dutch actor (b. 1938)
 2015 - Wilfred Agbonavbare, Nigerian footballer (b. 1966)
 2015 - Henk Faanhof, Dutch road bicycle racer (b. 1922)
 2015 - David Landau, British-Israeli journalist (b. 1947)
 2015 - Charles Hard Townes, American physicist (b. 1915)
 2015 - John T. Myers, American politician (b. 1927)
 2015 - Rocky Bridges, American baseball player (b. 1927)
 2016 - Augusto Giomo, Italian basketball player (b. 1940)
 2016 - Carlos Loyzaga, Filipino basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
 2017 – Wim Anderiesen Jr., Dutch footballer (b. 1931)
 2017 - Valery Bolotov, Ukrainian militant leader (b. 1970)
 2017 - Bob Holiday, American actor (b. 1932)
 2017 - Emmanuelle Riva, French actress (b. 1927)
 2017 - Billy Simpson, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1929)
 2017 - Gisella Sofio, Italian actress (b. 1931)
 2017 - Henry-Louis de La Grange, French musicologist (b. 1924)
 2017 - Atanas Kirov, Bulgarian weightlifter (b. 1948)
 2017 - Brunhilde Pomsel, German broadcaster (b. 1911)
 2017 - Arthur H. Rosenfeld, American physicist (b. 1926)
 2018 - Robert McCormick Adams, Jr., American anthropologist (b. 1926)
 2018 - Royal Galipeau, Canadian politician (b. 1947)
 2018 - Ingvar Kamprad, Swedish businessman (b. 1926)
 2018 - Dennis Peron, American cannabis and LGBT activist and businessman (b. 1946)
 2018 - Mort Walker, American comic artist (b. 1923)
 2018 - John Wall, English engineer and astronomer (b. 1932)
 2019 - Henry Chapier, Romanian-born French television journalist (b. 1933)
 2019 - Nina Fyodorova, Russian cross-country skier (b. 1947)
 2019 - Peter Magowan, American businessman (b. 1942)
 2019 - Erica Yohn, American actress (b. 1928)

Observances 
 Holocaust Memorial Day

Days of the year