January 28

### Up to 1900

- 98 – Trajan becomes Emperor of the Roman Empire.
- 814 – Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne dies.
- 1393 – King Charles VI of France narrowly escapes death when several dancers' costumes catch fire during a masquerade ball.
- 1521 – The Diet of Worms begins.
- 1547 – As a nine–year–old, Edward VI becomes King of England, following the death of his father, King Henry VIII of England.
- 1573 – Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.
- 1624 – Thomas Warner founds a colony on Saint Kitts.
- 1724 – The Russian Academy of the Sciences is founded by Tsar Peter I of Russia.
- 1754 – Horace Walpole coins the word _serendipity_ in a letter to Horace Mann.
- 1813 – _Pride and Prejudice_ by Jane Austen is first published.
- 1820 – A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen first sights the Antarctic continent.
- 1821 – Bellingshausen's Antarctic expedition discovers an island just off the coast of Antarctica, which later becomes known as Alexander Island.
- 1841 – James Clark Ross' Antarctic expedition discovers the Ross Ice Shelf.
- 1846 – The Battle of Aliwal in India is won by British forces under Harry Smith.
- 1855 – In Panama, a locomotive travels from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
- 1870 – After leaving Halifax, Nova Scotia, British passenger steamer _City of Boston_ disappears without trace in the North Atlantic Ocean, along with the 191 people on board.
- 1871 – Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris ends in a French defeat and an armistice.
- 1878 – The _Yale Daily News_ becomes the first daily (meaning it is published every day) college newspaper in the United States.
- 1878 – The first telephone box opens in New Haven, Connecticut.
- 1887 – The world's largest snowflakes are recorded at Fort Keogh, Montana.
- 1887 – Building of the Eiffel Tower begins.
- 1896 – Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent is the first person convicted of a speeding offence.
- 1897 – The Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 was amended on the 28th of January by the British Raj within British India respectively.
- 1900 – The DFB, German Football Federation, is founded.

### 1901 – 2000

- 1908 – Some members of the Portuguese Republican Party fail in their attempted coup against the dictatorship of Joao Franco.
- 1909 – US troops leave Cuba, except for Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, having been there since 1898.
- 1915 – An Act of Congress creates the United States Coast Guard.
- 1917 – City–owned streetcars take to the streets of San Francisco for the first time.
- 1918 – Finnish Civil War: Rebels seize Helsinki.
- 1922 – The Knickerbocker Storm causes Washington, DC's biggest snowfall.
- 1932 – Japanese forces attack Shanghai.
- 1933 – Choudhary Rahmat Ali Khan chooses the name "Pakistan" on this date. Today it is one of the official national holidays of the 'Islamic Republic'.
- 1933 – Kurt von Schleicher resigns as Chancellor of Germany and suggests to Paul von Hindenburg to name Adolf Hitler as the next Chancellor.
- 1934 – The first ski tow in the United States begins operation in Vermont.
- 1935 – Iceland legalises abortion.
- 1938 – Rudolf Caracciola sets the World Land Speed Record on a public road, with 432.7 kilometers per hour (268.9 miles per hour).
- 1941 – French-Thai War: A Japanese–mediated armistice goes into effect.
- 1945 – World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly re–opened Burma Road.
- 1956 – Elvis Presley makes his first appearance on US television.
- 1958 – The Lego company patents its now–famous toy bricks.
- 1958 – The last episode of British radio show _The Goon Show_ is broadcast.
- 1959 – Thailand adopts a new constitution.
- 1964 – An unarmed United States Air Force T–39 Sabreliner on a training misiion is shot down over Erfurt, then–East Germany, by a Soviet MiG–19.
- 1965 – The design for the current Flag of Canada is chosen in an Act of Parliament.
- 1977 – The Great Lakes Blizzard (snowstorm), lasting until February 1, affects parts of upstate New York.
- 1979 – Pope John Paul II visits Mexico.
- 1980 – The ship USCGC _Blackthorn_ collides with the tanker _Capricorn_ off Tampa, Florida, killing 23 people.
- 1982 – United States Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti–terrorist forces.
- 1984 – Tropical Storm Domoina makes landfall in Mozambique, where it causes widespread flooding and kills 214 people.
- 1985 – Supergroup USA for Africa records the hit single We Are the World to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief.
- 1986 – The Space Shuttle Challenger breaks up 73 seconds after lift off at Cape Canaveral, Florida, killing all 7 astronauts on board.
- 1987 – Mikhail Gorbachev, in a speech, sets out plans for liberal reforms, including Perestroika and Glasnost.

### From 2001

- 2002 – TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727–100, crashes in the Colombian Andes, killing 92 people.
- 2006 – At the Katowice International Fair in Poland, the roof of one of the buildings collapses, killing 65 people.
- 2011 – 2011 Egyptian protests: Hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets in Egypt, in protest against Hosni Mubarak, who cuts internet access on the same day.
- 2013 – Three days before her 75th birthday, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands announces her intention to give up the throne on April 30 of the same year, when Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange becomes the Netherlands' first king since 1890.
- 2014 – After strong protests, Ukraine withdraws a controversial anti–protest law introduced over a week earlier.
- 2014 – The United Nations Court in The Hague defines the maritime border between Peru and Chile.
- 2017 – Serena Williams wins her 23rd Grand Slam tennis Singles title at the Australian Open, surpassing Steffi Graf's Open Era record of 22.
- 2018 – Roger Federer wins his 20th Grand Slam singles tennis title, at the Australian Open.

### Up to 1850

- 1225 – Saint Thomas of Aquinas (d. 1274).
- 1312 – Joan II of Navarre (d. 1349).
- 1453 – Simonetta Vespucci, Italian Renaissance figure (d. 1476).
- 1457 – King Henry VII of England (d. 1509).
- 1507 – Ferrante Gonzaga, Viceroy of Sicily (d. 1557).
- 1533 – Paul Luther, German physician and son of Martin Luther (d. 1593).
- 1540 – Ludolph von Ceulen, German mathematician (d. 1610).
- 1582 – John Barclay, Scottish writer (d. 1621).
- 1600 – Pope Clement IX (d. 1669).
- 1608 – Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (d. 1679).
- 1611 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and Mayor of Gdansk (d. 1687).
- 1622 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer (d. 1691).
- 1701 – Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (d. 1774).
- 1706 – John Baskerville, English writer and printmaker (d. 1775).
- 1712 – Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shogun (d. 1761).
- 1717 – Mustafa III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1774).
- 1719 – Johann Elias Schlegel, German critic and poet (d. 1749).
- 1768 – King Frederick VI of Denmark and Norway (d. 1669).
- 1784 – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1860).
- 1806 – William Aitken, Jr., Governor of South Carolina (d. 1887).
- 1807 – Robert McClure, Irish seafarer and explorer (d. 1873).
- 1809 – Theodor Benfey, German philologist (d. 1881).
- 1815 – Andrew Jackson Hamilton, 12th Governor of Texas (d. 1875).
- 1818 – George S. Boutwell, 20th Governor of Massachusetts and 28th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1905).
- 1822 – Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1892).
- 1833 – Charles George Gordon, British general (d. 1885).
- 1838 – James Craig Watson, American astronomer (d. 1880).
- 1841 – Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh–born explorer, journalist and colonialist (d. 1904).

### 1851 – 1900

- 1853 – Jose Marti, Cuban revolutionary (d. 1891).
- 1853 – Vladimir Solovyov, Russian philosopher (d. 1890).
- 1858 – Tannatt William Edgworth David, Welsh–born Australian geologist and explorer (d. 1934).
- 1858 – Stoyan Danev, Prime minister of Bulgaria (d. 1949).
- 1863 – Ernest William Christmas, Australian painter (d. 1918).
- 1864 – Charles W. Nash, American automobile entrepreneur (d. 1948).
- 1864 – Herbert Akroyd Stuart, English inventor (d. 1927).
- 1865 – Kaarlo Juho Stahlberg, 1st President of Finland (d. 1952).
- 1865 – Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1928).
- 1872 – Otto Braun, Prussian politician (d. 1955).
- 1873 – Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, French writer (d. 1954).
- 1875 – Julian Carrillo, Mexican composer, conductor, violinist and music theorist (d. 1965).
- 1884 – Auguste Piccard, Swiss scientist (d. 1962).
- 1884 – Jean Piccard, Swiss scientist (d. 1963).
- 1886 – Marthe Bibesco, Romanian writer (d. 1973).
- 1886 – Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese electrical engineer (d. 1976).
- 1887 – Arthur Rubinstein, Polish pianist (d. 1982).
- 1889 – Ramon Iglesias i Navarri, Catalan Bishop of Urgel, Spanish Co–Prince Andorra (d. 1972).
- 1890 – Robert Stroud, American convict, "Birdman of Alcatraz" (d. 1963)
- 1891 – Bill Doak, American baseball player (d. 1954).
- 1892 – Ernst Lubitsch, German director (d. 1947).
- 1897 – Valentin Kataev, Soviet dramatist (d. 1986).

### 1901 – 1950

- 1902 – Alfred H. Barr, Jr., American art historian (d. 1981).
- 1909 – John Thomson, Scottish footballer (d. 1931).
- 1910 – John Banner, Austrian–born actor (d. 1973).
- 1911 – Johan van Hulst, Dutch politician (d. 2018).
- 1912 – Jackson Pollock, American painter (d. 1956).
- 1918 – Sandro Puppo, Italian footballer (d. 1986).
- 1919 – Francis Gobreski, American fighter pilot (d. 2002).
- 1922 – Robert W. Holley, American biochemist (d. 1993).
- 1923 – Richard Herrmann, German footballer (d. 1962).
- 1924 – Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian artist (d. 1976).
- 1926 – Abdul-Karim Mousavi Ardebili, former Interim President of Iran (d. 2016).
- 1926 – Harry L. Ettlinger, German–American engineer (d. 2018).
- 1927 – Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director (d. 2001).
- 1927 – Per Oscarsson, Swedish actor (d. 2010).
- 1929 – Acker Bilk, English jazz clarinettist (d. 2014).
- 1929 – Edith M. Flanigen, American chemist.
- 1929 – Claes Oldenburg, Swedish–American artist.
- 1930 – Kurt Biedenkopf, German politician.
- 1930 – Jasraj, Indian classical singer (d. 2020).
- 1930 – Roy Clarke, English television scriptwriter.
- 1934 – Juan Manuel Bordeu, Argentine racing driver (d. 1990).
- 1935 – David Lodge, British writer.
- 1936 – Alan Alda, American actor, director and writer.
- 1936 – Waldyr Boccardo, Brazilian basketball player (d. 2018).
- 1936 – Ismail Kadare, Albanian writer (d. 2024).
- 1937 – Donald Crothers, American academic and educator (d. 2014).
- 1938 – Tomas Lindahl, Swedish biologist and geneticist.
- 1938 – Leonid Zhabotinsky, Ukrainian weightlifter (d. 2016).
- 1939 – John M. Fabian, American pilot and astronaut.
- 1940 – Carlos Slim, Mexican businessman.
- 1941 – Joel Crothers, American actor (d. 1985).
- 1941 – King Tubby, Jamaican musician (d. 1989).
- 1942 – Sjoukje Dijkstra, Dutch figure skater.
- 1943 – Paul Henderson, Canadian ice hockey player.
- 1943 – Dick Taylor, British musician.
- 1944 – Susan Howard, American actress.
- 1944 – John Tavener, English composer (d. 2013).
- 1945 – Marthe Keller, Swiss actress.
- 1945 – Robert Wyatt, English musician.
- 1947 – Jeanne Shaheen, American politician, United States Senator for New Hampshire
- 1948 – Charles Taylor, former President of Liberia.
- 1948 – Heinz Flohe, German footballer (d. 2013).
- 1949 – Mike Moore, 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand.
- 1949 – Thomas Downey, American politician.
- 1949 – Gregg Popovich, American basketball coach.
- 1950 – David C. Hilmers, American astronaut.
- 1950 – Hamad Ibn Isa al Khalifah, King of Bahrain.

### 1951 – 1975

- 1951 – Leonid Kadeniuk, Ukrainian cosmonaut (d. 2018).
- 1953 – Richard Anconina, French actor.
- 1954 – Bruno Metsu, French footballer and coach (d. 2013)
- 1954 – Robin Smith, Canadian voice actor
- 1955 – Nicolas Sarkozy, former President of France.
- 1955 – Vinod Khosla, Indian–American businessman, co–founded Sun Microsystems.
- 1957 – Frank Skinner, English comedian.
- 1957 – Nick Price, Zimbabwean golfer.
- 1961 – Arnaldur Indridason, Icelandic writer.
- 1961 – Normand Rochefort, Canadian ice hockey player.
- 1962 – Joan McAlpine, Scottish politician.
- 1964 – Dave McPherson, Scottish footballer
- 1964 – Juergen Teller, German artist and photographer.
- 1966 – Andrea Berg, German singer.
- 1968 – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer/songwriter
- 1968 – DJ Muggs, American musician
- 1969 – Kathryn Morris, American actress.
- 1971 – Anthony Hamilton, American singer
- 1972 – Nicky Southall, English footballer and manager
- 1974 – Magglio Ordóñez, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1975 – Lee Latchford-Evans, English singer (Steps)

### From 1976

- 1976 – Lee Ingleby, English actor.
- 1976 – Rick Ross, American rapper.
- 1977 – Daunte Culpepper, American football player.
- 1977 – Joey Fatone, American singer (*NSYNC)
- 1978 – Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
- 1978 – Jamie Carragher, English footballer
- 1978 – Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer
- 1979 – Ali Boulala, Swedish skateboarder
- 1980 – Nick Carter, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
- 1980 – Yasuhito Endo, Japanese footballer
- 1980 – Michael Hastings, American journalist (d. 2013)
- 1981 – Elijah Wood, American actor
- 1984 – Andre Iguodala, American basketball player
- 1984 – Anne Panter, English field hockey player
- 1985 – Daniel Carcillo, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Arnold Mvuemba, French footballer
- 1985 – Libby Trickett, Australian swimmer
- 1985 – J. Cole, American rapper
- 1985 – Andras Kallay-Saunders, American–Hungarian singer
- 1986 – Shruti Haasan, Indian actress
- 1986 – Jessica Ennis-Hill, British athlete
- 1989 – Siem de Jong, Dutch footballer
- 1991 – Calum Worthy, Canadian actor
- 1991 – Carl Klingberg, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1992 – Andrei Savchenko, Russian footballer
- 1993 – Richmond Boakye, Ghanaian footballer
- 1993 – John Anthony Brooks, German–American soccer player
- 1993 – Will Poulter, English actor
- 1998 – Ariel Winter, American actress and singer

### Up to 1950

- 592 – Guntram, King of the Franks (b. 532)
- 814 – Charlemagne, King of the Franks (b. early 700s)
- 1271 – Isabella of Aragon, Queen of France (b. 1247)
- 1443 – Robert Le Masson, Chancellor of France
- 1547 – Henry VIII of England (b. 1491)
- 1596 – Francis Drake, English naval officer, explorer and pirate (b. 1540)
- 1613 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and library founder (b. 1545)
- 1621 – Pope Paul V (b. 1550)
- 1672 – Pierre Seguier, Chancellor of France (b. 1588)
- 1687 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and Mayor of Gdansk (b. 1611)
- 1697 – John Fenwick, English conspirator
- 1754 – Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian historian and writer (b. 1684)
- 1859 – Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1782)
- 1859 – Carl Adolph Agardh, Swedish botanist (b. 1785)
- 1864 – Emile Chappeyron, English engineer and physicist (b. 1799)
- 1912 – Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist (b. 1819)
- 1918 – John McCrae, Canadian poet (b. 1872)
- 1924 – Teofilo Braga, Portuguese statesman (b. 1843)
- 1928 – Vicente Blasco Ibanez, Spanish writer (b. 1867)
- 1936 – Oscar K. Allen, Governor of Louisiana (b. 1882)
- 1937 – Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and shooter (b. 1862)
- 1938 – Bernd Rosemeyer, German racing driver (b. 1909)
- 1939 – William Butler Yeats, Irish writer (b. 1865)
- 1947 – Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan–French composer, conductor and critic (b. 1875)
- 1949 – Jean-Pierre Wimille, French racing driver (b. 1908)
- 1950 – Nicolai Luzin, Russian mathematician (b. 1883)

### 1951 – 2000

- 1951 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, President of Finland (b. 1867)
- 1953 – Derek Bentley, British victim of a miscarriage of justice (b. 1933) (hanged)
- 1953 – James Scullin, Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
- 1953 – Neyzen Tefvik, Turkish poet and satirist (b. 1879)
- 1956 – Marie Juchacz, German social reformer (b. 1883)
- 1959 – Walter Beall, American baseball (b. 1899)
- 1960 – Zora Neale Hurston, American writer (b. 1891)
- 1963 – Jean Piccard, Swiss scientist (b. 1884)
- 1963 – John Farrow, Australian screenwriter and director (b. 1904)
- 1965 – Maxime Weygand, French military (b. 1867)
- 1973 – John Banner, Austrian–born actor (b. 1910)
- 1975 – Ola Raknes, Norwegian psychoanalyst and philologist (b. 1887)
- 1976 – Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian artist (b. 1924)
- 1983 – Frank Forde, shortest–serving Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1890)
- 1983 – Billy Fury, British singer (b. 1940)
- 1985 – Alfredo Foni, Italian footballer (b. 1911)
- 1986 – Deaths in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster:
    - Greg Jarvis, American astronaut (b. 1944)
    - Christa McAuliffe, American teacher and astronaut (b. 1948)
    - Ronald McNair, American astronaut (b. 1950)
    - Ellison Onizuka, American astronaut (b. 1946)
    - Judith Resnik, American astronaut (b. 1949)
    - Francis R. Scobee, American astronaut (b. 1939)
    - Michael J. Smith, American astronaut (b. 1949)
- 1988 – Klaus Fuchs, German atomic spy (b. 1911)
- 1989 – Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama, Tibetan religious leader (b. 1938)
- 1991 – Red Grange, American football player (b. 1903)
- 1993 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, Canadian astronomer (b. 1905)
- 1994 – Hal Smith, American actor (b. 1916)
- 1996 – Joseph Brodsky, Russian poet (b. 1940)
- 1996 – Jerry Siegel, American cartoonist (b. 1914)
- 1998 – Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese writer (b. 1938)
- 1999 – Torgny Torgnysson Segerstedt, Swedish sociologist and philosopher (b. 1908)

### From 2001

- 2002 – Astrid Lindgren, Swedish writer (b. 1907)
- 2005 – Jim Capaldi, British musician (b. 1944)
- 2007 – Karel Svoboda, Czech composer (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Christodoulos I, Archbishop of Athens (b. 1939)
- 2008 – Marie Takvam, Norwegian writer (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Billy Powell, American musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (b. 1952)
- 2009 – Glenn Davis, American athlete (b. 1934)
- 2011 – Margaret Price, Welsh soprano (b. 1941)
- 2014 – Jorge Obeid, Argentine politician (b. 1947)
- 2014 – Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Yves Chauvin, French chemist (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Suraj Abdurrahman, Nigerian army officer (b. 1954)
- 2016 – Buddy Cianci, American politician (b. 1941)
- 2016 – Paul Kantner, American rock musician (b. 1941)
- 2016 – Signe Toly Anderson, American singer (b. 1941)
- 2016 – Yisroel Belsky, American rabbi (b. 1938)
- 2017 – Christopher Bland, British businessman (b. 1938)
- 2017 – Many Clouds, British racehorse (b. 2007)
- 2017 – Geoff Nicholls, British musician (b. 1948)
- 2017 – Lennart Nilsson, Swedish cinematographer (b. 1922)
- 2017 – Alexander Tikhanovich, Belarusian singer (b. 1952)
- 2017 – Bobby Freeman, American singer-songwriter and record producer (b. 1940)
- 2017 – Guitar Gable, American singer-songwriter and record producer (b. 1937)
- 2017 – Sang Chul Lee, Russian–born Canadian Christian minister (b. 1924)
- 2017 – John N. Mather, American mathematician (b. 1942)
- 2017 – Bharati Mukherjee, American writer (b. 1940)
- 2017 – Richard Portman, American sound engineer (b. 1934)
- 2017 – Thomas Joseph Simpson, Canadian World War II veteran (b. 1921)
- 2017 – Dan Spiegle, American comic book artist (b. 1920)
- 2017 – Darryl Sutton, Australian rules footballer (b. 1952)
- 2017 – Stuart Timmons, American historian and activist (b. 1957)
- 2018 – Dharmasena Pathiraja, Sri Lankan movie director and screenwriter (b. 1943)
- 2018 – Coco Schumann, German jazz guitarist (b. 1924)
- 2018 – Gene Sharp, American political scientist (b. 1928)
- 2019 – Jurrie Koolhof, Dutch footballer (b. 1960)
- 2019 – Mourad Medelci, Algerian politician (b. 1943)
- 2019 – Pepe Smith, Filipino rock guitarist (b. 1947)

## Observances

- Army Day (Armenia)
- EU Data Privacy Day
- Unofficial Day commemorating Charlemagne in some Christian groups.